By: Marshall Ramsey II, Worthynews.com U.S. Correspondent
SAINT GEORGE, South Carolina (WorthyNews) -- In early Spring, L.C. Knight of the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office, purchased an MRAP from the federal government. MRAP stands for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle.
In an article dated August 24, 2014, Schuyler Kropf and Adam Parker of the Post and Courier stated that the MRAP purchased by Sheriff Knight will eventually be painted black. Perhaps Mr. Kropf and Mr. Parker are not aware of this, but the MRAP purchased by Sheriff Knight has already been painted black, and has seen "action."
On July 22, 2014, a man by the name of Vamond Elmore was shot and killed by agents of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) in the town of Saint George in upper Dorchester County. Pictures of the scene showed a black MRAP present. Unless SLED, the US Marshals Service, or the Charleston County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) brought one, which seems highly unlikely, (they were on the scene as well), it belongs to Dorchester County.
As a resident of Saint George, I have a feel of the general level of criminal activity going on in the area. While Saint George does have its problems, I can tell you with certainty that there is absolutely no need for the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) to have an MRAP. MRAPs are designed to be able to withstand a lot of damage, specifically from land mines and automatic weapons fire in an ambush setting.
While there are people who don't like the police, I know of no one in upper or lower Dorchester County who would even think of trying to ambush the police in this manner. Does Sheriff Knight expect the kind of high-level terrorism one would find in Fallujah, Afghanistan to be coming to Saint George? Perhaps he thinks that the American-born terrorist Abdullah al-Shami will show up and detonate one of his improvised explosive devises that he is so famous for building and distributing.
What is even more disturbing than the obvious militarization of state, county, and local police forces is the fact that Congress, under the 1997 National Defense Authorization Act, considers all military equipment their "personal property."
Under Section 1033 (which is where the program gets its name), local law enforcement can acquire excess military equipment such as grenade launchers, protective armor, and heavily armored tactical vehicles, such as MRAPs, for no charge. This means that taxpayers are being forced to pay the bill on these items. Over $5.1 billion have been spent by civilian police agencies in procuring these items with over $450 million being spent in 2013 alone. What that means is that since 1997, nearly one tenth of all spending in the 1033 program was done in one year. Since civilian police agencies are getting this equipment at no charge to them, these agencies are taking public funds and using it to make these purchases, all without accountability to the taxpayer.
According to the Post and Courier, virtually every county in the United States has "dipped their hand" into the proverbial cookie jar. Charleston county has 290 military rifles, six helicopters, and at least two MRAPs. Dorchester County (only the MRAP is known to me) has other items beside these that are unknown. Dorchester County had dropped out of the program, but recently started back.
While Congress is more than willing to sell their "personal property" (Will people be considered their personal property next?) to state and local law enforcement, they don't do it for free. In South Carolina, for instance, law enforcement agencies must buy their way into the program through the state Budget and Control Board. For agencies with 25 or fewer officers, the annual "enrollment" fee is $500. For agencies with 201 agents or more, the fee is $2,000. This amounts to nothing more than pimp money paid to the South Carolina Budget Control Board for local agencies to commit financial rape against the citizens of South Carolina, the very people they are supposed to be "serving and protecting". Once the enrollment fee is paid, which is little more than a bribe, agencies can then "troll" (a word used in the Post and Courier article) a special website where they can pick and choose what they want.
Referring to the MRAP purchased by DCSO, it took about five weeks to get the vehicle ready for pick up from Sealy, TX, presumably where the vehicle is assembled. This implies that the MRAP was custom ordered. If that be the case, then why did Hanahan Police Chief Mike Cochran say it would cost about $40,000 to retrofit it for police work? If I were buying an MRAP specifically made for use in military theaters, then I would not spend an additional $40,000 having the thing retrofitted for police use.
Chief Cochran is lying. In another statement he made, Chief Cochran says that in costs involved, purchasing an MRAP isn't beneficial, saying that the hypothetical MRAP the city of Hanahan has (which is a sly way of admitting that they do) might not even be usable in its once a year use because it might have a dead battery.
Batteries are made to last for years as long as you don't leave the doors open or the lights on. Perhaps Hanahan PD are forgetful? Even in a vehicle as electronically specialized as an MRAP, (I have seen the insides of them), the battery won't go dead if taken care of properly.
SAINT GEORGE, South Carolina (WorthyNews) -- In early Spring, L.C. Knight of the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office, purchased an MRAP from the federal government. MRAP stands for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle.
In an article dated August 24, 2014, Schuyler Kropf and Adam Parker of the Post and Courier stated that the MRAP purchased by Sheriff Knight will eventually be painted black. Perhaps Mr. Kropf and Mr. Parker are not aware of this, but the MRAP purchased by Sheriff Knight has already been painted black, and has seen "action."
On July 22, 2014, a man by the name of Vamond Elmore was shot and killed by agents of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) in the town of Saint George in upper Dorchester County. Pictures of the scene showed a black MRAP present. Unless SLED, the US Marshals Service, or the Charleston County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) brought one, which seems highly unlikely, (they were on the scene as well), it belongs to Dorchester County.
As a resident of Saint George, I have a feel of the general level of criminal activity going on in the area. While Saint George does have its problems, I can tell you with certainty that there is absolutely no need for the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) to have an MRAP. MRAPs are designed to be able to withstand a lot of damage, specifically from land mines and automatic weapons fire in an ambush setting.
While there are people who don't like the police, I know of no one in upper or lower Dorchester County who would even think of trying to ambush the police in this manner. Does Sheriff Knight expect the kind of high-level terrorism one would find in Fallujah, Afghanistan to be coming to Saint George? Perhaps he thinks that the American-born terrorist Abdullah al-Shami will show up and detonate one of his improvised explosive devises that he is so famous for building and distributing.
What is even more disturbing than the obvious militarization of state, county, and local police forces is the fact that Congress, under the 1997 National Defense Authorization Act, considers all military equipment their "personal property."
Under Section 1033 (which is where the program gets its name), local law enforcement can acquire excess military equipment such as grenade launchers, protective armor, and heavily armored tactical vehicles, such as MRAPs, for no charge. This means that taxpayers are being forced to pay the bill on these items. Over $5.1 billion have been spent by civilian police agencies in procuring these items with over $450 million being spent in 2013 alone. What that means is that since 1997, nearly one tenth of all spending in the 1033 program was done in one year. Since civilian police agencies are getting this equipment at no charge to them, these agencies are taking public funds and using it to make these purchases, all without accountability to the taxpayer.
According to the Post and Courier, virtually every county in the United States has "dipped their hand" into the proverbial cookie jar. Charleston county has 290 military rifles, six helicopters, and at least two MRAPs. Dorchester County (only the MRAP is known to me) has other items beside these that are unknown. Dorchester County had dropped out of the program, but recently started back.
While Congress is more than willing to sell their "personal property" (Will people be considered their personal property next?) to state and local law enforcement, they don't do it for free. In South Carolina, for instance, law enforcement agencies must buy their way into the program through the state Budget and Control Board. For agencies with 25 or fewer officers, the annual "enrollment" fee is $500. For agencies with 201 agents or more, the fee is $2,000. This amounts to nothing more than pimp money paid to the South Carolina Budget Control Board for local agencies to commit financial rape against the citizens of South Carolina, the very people they are supposed to be "serving and protecting". Once the enrollment fee is paid, which is little more than a bribe, agencies can then "troll" (a word used in the Post and Courier article) a special website where they can pick and choose what they want.
Referring to the MRAP purchased by DCSO, it took about five weeks to get the vehicle ready for pick up from Sealy, TX, presumably where the vehicle is assembled. This implies that the MRAP was custom ordered. If that be the case, then why did Hanahan Police Chief Mike Cochran say it would cost about $40,000 to retrofit it for police work? If I were buying an MRAP specifically made for use in military theaters, then I would not spend an additional $40,000 having the thing retrofitted for police use.
Chief Cochran is lying. In another statement he made, Chief Cochran says that in costs involved, purchasing an MRAP isn't beneficial, saying that the hypothetical MRAP the city of Hanahan has (which is a sly way of admitting that they do) might not even be usable in its once a year use because it might have a dead battery.
Batteries are made to last for years as long as you don't leave the doors open or the lights on. Perhaps Hanahan PD are forgetful? Even in a vehicle as electronically specialized as an MRAP, (I have seen the insides of them), the battery won't go dead if taken care of properly.
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