CITY of ALBUQUERQUE
TWENTY FOURTH COUNCIL
COUNCIL BILL NO. R-20-65 ENACTMENT NO. ________________________
SPONSORED BY: Pat Davis and Lan Sena
RESOLUTION
title
Prohibiting The Police Department From Applying For Or Receiving Surplus Military Equipment For Civilian Law Enforcement Use; Requiring The Police Department To Provide An Inventory Of Equipment (Davis, Sena)
body
WHEREAS, the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 1997 allows for US Department of Defense, through the Law Enforcement Support Office in the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA-LESO) to transfer to local law enforcement agencies surplus military equipment for civilian law enforcement use through a program commonly known as the "1033 program"; and
WHEREAS, the DLA-LESO reports that since the program's inception more than $7.8 billion in military equipment has been provided to local law enforcement agencies, including the Albuquerque Police Department; and
WHEREAS, In 2014, US Attorney General Eric Holder announced a review of the 1033 program stating, "displays of force in response to mostly peaceful demonstrations can be counterproductive,...it makes sense to take a look at whether military-style equipment is being acquired for the right purposes and whether there is proper training on when and how to deploy it;" and
WHEREAS, studies have shown and diverse groups from the Charles Koch Institute and the American Civil Liberties Union have concluded that the militarization of police erodes public trust and leads to increased police violence, while the use of military grade weapons has not been show to significantly reduce crime; and
WHEREAS, the accusation of military equipment under the 1033 Program requires our city to use of the military grade equipment within one year or the equipment must be returned and the city must pay for transportation, maintenance, and conversion costs of this equipment as well as fuel, insurance, storage, and tra...
Click here for full text