Sheriff John Urquhart has ‘no beef’ with Trump military surplus decision
Aug 30, 2017, 5:21 AM | Updated: 11:21 am
Police in Ferguson were criticized for their military-style response to protests in the wake of the Michael Brown shooting. (AP)
(AP)
While King County Sheriff John Urquhart has been vocal in his opposition to some of President Donald Trump’s decisions, there is one move he has “no beef with.”
President Trump recently revoked executive order 13688, which was signed by President Obama. That order limited what surplus equipment law enforcement agencies could purchase from the military.
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“I don’t have a beef with President Trump lifting that order,” Urquhart told Seattle’s Morning News. “But if it’s used incorrectly; if it’s used to militarize police, and we know what the public thinks about that, then that’s a bad use of surplus military equipment.”
The militarization of police has been a controversial issue across the nation as police agencies get access to military grade weapons and vehicles. It has raised questions about the relationship between police and the communities they are to serve and protect. While Trump’s decision to reopen the supply line from the military to police is a welcome move, Urquhart is cautious about what police should have available to them.
The surplus military program was something that King County previously benefited from. But Urquhart said he knew there was a line between what to buy and what should stay within the military.
“We took great advantage of that,” Urquhart said. “The sheriff’s office got cold weather socks. We got file cabinets. We got a snowcat that we use for search and rescue operations. And frankly, we got rifles from that as well. After I became sheriff I sent almost all of those rifles back – we didn’t need them, we didn’t want them.”
“But we never got any armored cars,” he said. “We never got any MRAPs. We never got any truly military gear from the federal government. The reality is it’s not the gear that you get, it’s how you use it. If you keep it in a warehouse until you get that school shooting; until you have that sniper barricaded in a building, then that’s fine. It’s how the police agency uses that equipment.”
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