Trump prepares to lift limits on gear for police

UNITED STATES: The Trump administration is preparing to restore surplus military equipment to local law enforcement agencies under a programme that had been curtailed amid an outcry over police use of armoured vehicles and other war-fighting gear to confront protesters.

Documents obtained by The Associated Press indicate President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order undoing an Obama administration directive that restricted police access to the gear that includes grenade launchers, bullet-proof vests, riot shields, firearms and ammunition. Trump’s order would restore the programme under which ‘‘assets that would otherwise be scrapped can be repurposed to help state, local, and tribal law enforcement better protect public safety and reduce crime,’' according to the documents.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions could outline the changes during a speech today to the national conference of the Fraternal Order of Police in Nashville, Tennessee, a person familiar with the matter said. The person insisted on anonymity to discuss the plan ahead of an official announcement. The changes would be another way in which Trump and Sessions are enacting a law-and-order agenda that views federal support of local police as a way to drive down violent crime.

National police organisations have been pushing Trump to hold his promise to again make the equipment available to local and state police departments, many of which see it as needed to ensure officers aren’t put in danger when responding to active shooter calls and terrorist attacks. An armoured vehicle played a key role in the police response to the December 2015 mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. In 1990, Congress authorised the Pentagon to give surplus equipment to police to help fight drugs, which then gave way to the fight against terrorism.

Groups have expressed concern about the militarisation of police, arguing the equipment encourages and escalates confrontations with officers. -AP