MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A program that provides surplus military equipment to law enforcement, under scrutiny because of the police shooting in Ferguson, Mo., has been on hold in Alabama since March.
The Defense Department's Defense Logistics Agency suspended the program in Alabama on March 6 because paperwork from some equipment recipients was missing.
The program, known as the 1033 program, furnishes surplus military equipment, including weapons, aircraft, armored vehicles and body armor, to more than 8,000 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Federal records show that since 2006, Alabama has received $117 million in equipment, second only to Florida at $252 million.
The federal program has come under scrutiny since police in Ferguson used surplus military equipment in clashes with protesters.
The Department of Defense suspended Alabama's participation March 6 because paperwork from some equipment recipients was missing, officials said. With Gov. Robert Bentley's approval, the program was transferred in May from the Department of Public Safety to the Department of Economic and Community Affairs, which handles other surplus property programs.
ADECA spokesman Larry Childers said the department determined that no property was missing, but some paperwork was missing. He said problems include agencies not filling out paperwork to show which officer is assigned the equipment and agencies not submitting proper photos of the equipment, including serial numbers, to a federal database.
He said the department is working to get the program reinstated, and that includes making sure local officials have proper training on the required paperwork.
Mobile Assistant Police Chief Joseph Kennedy told al.com that his agency has received AR15 rifles, as well as high-water vehicles and Humvees that are useful during floods and hurricanes.
"It's a lot easier on us to get vehicles through the program than to have to go out and buy these vehicles," he said.
Morgan County Sheriff Ana Franklin told WAFF-TV that her department began acquiring equipment through the program after deadly tornadoes hit north Alabama in 2011, and it has received nearly $2 million worth that the department could not have afforded due to tight budgets.
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