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On the Need to Demilitarize State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies in Vermont

 

The following letter was presented to the Vermont State Legislature during a committee hearing on March 12th, 2015 with three enclosures.  

 

 

March 12th, 2015

 

State House of Representatives

115 State Street

Montpelier, VT  05633

 

Dear Representatives,

 

The purpose of this letter is to urge you as a member of the Vermont legislature to take the necessary actions to end the police militarization that has been sweeping state and local law enforcement agencies as a result of Department of Defense Program 1033.  This program has promoted the transfer of military grade equipment and weapons to law enforcement agencies across the country.  Please find attached supporting documents which outline the equipment transferred to Vermont thus far.  We have also included the executive summary of War Comes Home, an ACLU report that highlights the dangerous impacts the introduction of this military grade equipment has had on the manner with which the public and the law enforcement agencies engage one another.  

 

Vermont has the opportunity to curtail this militarizing influence, which is currently unchecked by our legislature.  Representative Janet Ancel of Calais and sponsors have initiated action on this issue with the introduction of H.8:  an act relating to the oversight of the transfer of military equipment to law enforcement agencies.  H.8 will require the Attorney General to oversee the acquisition of surplus equipment and report annually to the legislature. This bill will be a step in the right direction.  We strongly urge that the report include all additional costs associated with these acquisitions and that the report be prominently posted on the Attorney General’s web site for public oversight.
 
As many of you are aware, last August a man in Duxbury threatened himself and others with a firearm. The State Police responded with 30 law enforcement vehicles, including an armored vehicle and helicopter, and with personnel in full combat gear and assault rifles.  The militarized nature of this response erased any distinction between the police principle to “protect and serve” and the military principle of overwhelming force. 

 

We realize that there were underlying issues at play in this incident, to include – as it is our understanding – the inability of mental health units to respond to the incident.  We also recognize the efforts of law enforcement personnel to protect the lives and property of Vermonters and that this work – by its nature – can entail risk for its agents.  That being said, we feel that the police militarization directly contributed to the excessive show of force demonstrated by this incident. It appears a Vermont army has been created as a result of DOD program 1033 without oversight by the legislature as the representative of the people of Vermont. 
 
Please note that Article 16 of the Vermont Constitution specifically prohibits the establishment of a standing army. Also note that Article five of the Vermont Constitution states that the people of the state, through their representatives, “…have the sole, inherent, and exclusive right of governing and regulating the internal police…”


Veterans for Peace would welcome an opportunity to talk with you and to testify about H.8. We look forward to seeing legislative action that will address the concerns we have raised in this letter.  We are not alone in our concerns.  Please find attached copies of signatures and statements collected over three months from 436 Vermonters who likewise have concerns about this program and its implications for the state of Vermont.
 
Sincerely,

 

Will Miller Green Mountain Veterans For Peace

 

 

Enclosures:

 

  • Petition to De-Militarize the Police with 420 Signatures

  • ACLU | War Comes Home:  The Excessive Militarization of American Policing, Executive Summary

  • Mark Davis.  “The Pentagon is Stocking Vermont with the Tools of War.”  Seven Days, November 26, 2014. 

 

For the full packet PDF, click here.

 

 

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