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Armored Vehicles Among Military Gear Received
By: Associated Press
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State records show the U.S. military has given armored vehicles, assault rifles and thousands of other types of surplus military equipment to Ohio law enforcement agencies in recent years.
Ohio law enforcement agencies have received nearly 4,900 assault rifles and 36 mine-resistant vehicles since 2006 under a Department of Defense program that provides surplus military-style equipment to local police. Delaware police in central Ohio received a grenade launcher to fire tear gas canisters.
State troopers, sheriff's departments and city and university police in Ohio have received equipment through the program.
Military surplus equipment programs have garnered attention recently in light of violence in Ferguson, Missouri, where the local police department had acquired two armored Humvees and other military gear under a surplus equipment program.