New jersey…

Thanks to the military, local police are arming themselves with high-powered assault weapons, raising the question: how much firepower do cops need?

From 2006 to 2013, towns and police agencies across the state received a total of 1,328 M14s, M16A2, shotguns and pistols, and more than 22,000 other military items, from shirts to an 18-ton armored truck, from the Department of Defense’s 1033 military surplus program.

The state’s Office of Emergency Management, which is responsible for transferring the weapons, is in the process of doling out 300 more M14s and M16s from a Nov. 13 distribution to local police departments across the state. M16s can kill at 800 or more yards.

Police in Monmouth and Ocean counties took in 135 M14s and M16s, according to an inventory of the weapons. The high-powered rifles have been converted to from automatic to semi-automatic.

A national debate about whether it’s appropriate for community police departments to have such weapons erupted in the months after police used them to contain riots in Ferguson, Missouri, after the police shooting death of Michael Brown.

Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey don’t believe local police officers need battlefield equipment, and that there should be more oversight and transparency when it comes to the decisions to acquire such weapons.

“Communities — if given a chance to know about this and speak out against it — might not like the militarization of their local police,” said Ari Rosmarin, director of public policy for the ACLU of New Jersey.

As the conversation continues, public officials all over the country are demanding more transparency about the weapons transfers — New Jersey included. The state Senate Thursday approved two bills to increase oversight over the transfer of weapons.

Local weapons

In Central Jersey, police departments in Clinton, Dunellen, Linden, Milltown, Monroe, Perth Amboy, Piscataway, Raritan Township and Readington, along with the Union County Prosecutor’s Office have received weapons since 2006. The items include different types of rifles, according to data from the defense department.

In Raritan Township, the rifles are currently not being used and are kept in a locked in a gun locker at police headquarters, officials said.

The four .223-caliber M16s obtained by the Clinton Police Department through the government surplus program are currently assigned to a trained, authorized officer, said a police spokesman, who added that obtaining the firearms was a “proactive measure” in keeping officers adequately armed during times of crisis. The surplus program helped to save the department and taxpayers money, since they were free, the spokesman said.

New Brunswick, Perth Amboy, Plainfield, Sayreville and Scotch Plains also received different types of surplus items, according to Department of Defense records, ranging from cargo trucks and ammunition chests to digital computers systems and an Ipad.

Plainfield this summer received more than 100 items worth nearly $2 million. A bulk of the supplies were vehicles such as a dump truck, a forklift, more than a dozen utility, cargo and pickup trucks and a number of trailers.

The shipment also included 20 bayonet knives, which Police Director Carl Riley returned because he initially believed they could have been used as utility knives. ***WTF? How could anyone with more than 3 working brain cells believe a freakin’ bayonet could be used as a “utility knife”? Last I checked a utility knife is a razor knife-not even remotely close to a bayonet. Must be some real mental giants working for that PD ***

Riley said the vehicles will be painted in police colors and used by officers for water rescues and other calls. He said the equipment, which also includes radios, battery chargers and a power washer, helps the city save money on having to buy equipment on its own.

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/2014/12/11/military-weapons-nj-police-departments/20275065/