Govt agencies like EPA, FDA are spending TENS OF MILLIONS on SWAT and military-style equipment

riot_gear_police

Why in the world would the EPA or the FDA need riot gear?

WASHINGTON TIMES – As the U.S. engages in a national debate over the militarization of the police, federal data shows that government agencies charged with largely administrative roles are spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to purchase SWAT and military-style equipment.

Since FY 2006, 44 traditionally administrative agencies have spent over $71 million on items like body armor, riot helmets and shields, cannon launchers and police firearms and ammunition, according to federal spending data from watchdog group OpenTheBooks.com.

This comes in addition to the $330 million spent on such equipment in that period by traditional law enforcement agencies like the FBI, Secret Service and Drug Enforcement Administration.

Some examples of the purchases include:

• Nearly $2 million spent by the Department of Veterans Affairs on riot helmets, defender shields, body armor, a “milo return fire cannon system,” armored mobile shields, Kevlar blankets, tactical gear and equipment for crowd control.

• Over $300,000 spent by the Food and Drug Administration on “ballistic vests and carriers” in fiscal 2014.

• Over $200,000 on body armor spent by the Environmental Protection Agency during the Obama administration years, versus just $30,000 in the three previous fiscal years.

• More than $28,000 by the Smithsonian Institution on body armor for its “zoo police and security officers” in fiscal 2012.

KEEP READING THERE’S MORE…

This is just another reason we need to get rid of some of these bureaucratic departments that are just wasting taxpayer money pretending the are a police force.


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