MILACA, Minn. - President Obama wants local police departments to look less like the U.S. Armed Forces. He's banning the military from providing certain weapons and equipment through surplus programs or sales.
The banned items include tracked armored vehicles, grenade launchers, camouflage clothing, bayonets, and large-caliber weapons and ammo.
According to data collected by the USA Today, eight law enforcement agencies in Minnesota received grenade launchers from the military. They include Wright County Sheriff, Grand Rapids Police, Isanti Police, Mahnomen County Sheriff, Milaca Police, Mille Lacs County Sheriff, Rochester Police and Sherburne County Sheriff.
Milaca Police Chief Todd Quaintance said the department received their M79 grenade launcher recently and will train an officer to use it as a stun gun of sorts, shooting a bean bag-like projectile.
The Mille Lacs County Sheriff's Office uses their M79 grenade launcher to shoot tear gas. A high-ranking official said they would use it in a situation such as a standoff, however, he could only remember using it once in the last 7 years.
In explaining the ban, President Obama alluded to the outrage following the protests last summer in Ferguson, Missouri.
"We've seen how militarized gear can sometimes give people the feeling like, there's an occupying force as opposed to a force that is part of the community that's protecting and serving them," Obama said.
The Sherburne County Sheriff's Office in Elk River received a grenade launcher and a mine resistant vehicle.
The USA Today Analysis finds 6 other Minnesota agencies received those armored trucks but notes they might not be prohibited unless they are "weaponized." Those agencies include Dakota County Sheriff, Olmsted County Sheriff, Pine County Sheriff, St. Cloud Police, St. Louis County Sheriff, Sherburne County Sheriff, and Wright County Sheriff.
Officials with the Milaca Police Department and Mille Lacs County Sheriff's Office said they are not under the impression that the grenade launchers need to be returned as a result of the ban.
