OPENTHEBOOKS OVERSIGHT REPORT | PROGRAM 1033 –$1.8 BILLION IN MILITARY GEAR TRANSFERRED TO LOCAL POLICE AGENCIES PROGRAM 1033 $1.8 BILLION IN MILITARY GEAR TRANSFERRED TO 8,200 LOCAL POLICE AGENCIES OpenTheBooks Oversight Report OPENTHEBOOKS.COM | AMERICAN TRANSPARENCY OPENTHEBOOKS.COM AMERICAN TRANSPARENCY PROGRAM 1033 $1.8 BILLION IN MILITARY GEAR TRANSFERRED TO 8,200 LOCAL POLICE AGENCIES PUBLISHED: SEPTEMBER 2020 By: Adam Andrzejewski – Founder and CEO of OpenTheBooks.com Thomas W. Smith – Chairman of OpenTheBooks.com “OpenTheBooks is doing the work I envisioned when the Coburn-Obama bill became law. Their innovative app and other tools are putting sunlight through a magnifying glass.” U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, MD Washington, D.C. | March 11, 2014 Dedicated to Dr. Tom Coburn OpenTheBooks Honorary Chairman Rest In Peace - March 28, 2020 OUR REPORT MADE POSSIBLE BY: The “Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006” Sponsors: Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) & Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) (Public Law 109-282, 109th Congress) “Is the spending in the public interest or the special interest?” – U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, MD “I know that restoring transparency is not only the surest way to achieve results, but also to earn back the trust in government…” – U.S. Sen. Barack Obama PROLOGUE Jamelle Bouie / Flickr Civil unrest in urban areas during the summer of 2020 has sparked renewed interest in the Pentagon’s transfer of surplus military equipment to local law enforcement agencies. Liberals tend to raise civil liberties concerns while conservatives question why the federal government is involving itself in area of responsibility traditionally reserved for states and local communities. In the database provided by the U.S. government, 581,000 items of military gear worth $1.8 billion were distributed to domestic law enforcement since 1993. All items were in current inventory at local law enforcement agencies as of March 2020. We found that military equipment flowed into 8,200 communities across America. Quite likely, your own hometown police received some gear. Even small town police departments now possess mine resistant vehicles, armored trucks, helicopters, M16’s and M14’s, infrared goggles, and grenade launchers. Now, you can search our interactive map by ZIP Code and see which law enforcement agencies received what types of equipment – both in quantity and acquisition value. Critics and advocates of the program must grapple with the key question: “What legitimate law enforcement purpose is served by the procurement of military hardware, and, therefore, the militarization of our domestic police departments?” WHO WE ARE American Transparency (OpenTheBooks.com) is a public charity. We do not accept government money. Our oversight reports present hard data so citizens, media, think tanks, politicians, and watchdogs can “follow the money.” Hard facts are non-partisan and enhance the public discourse. OPENTHEBOOKS.COM | A PROJECT OF AMERICAN TRANSPARENCY | 501(c)(3) 1 OPENTHEBOOKS OVERSIGHT REPORT | PROGRAM 1033 – $1.8 BILLION IN MILITARY GEAR TRANSFERRED TO LOCAL POLICE AGENCIES SCOPE & METHODOLOGY Our OpenTheBooks Oversight Report: Program 1033 – $1.8 Billion In Military Gear Transferred To Local Police Agencies is a survey of current inventories. Our auditors reviewed the data across all 50 states including deeper dives into the ten most populous and the three least populous states. We obtained the data for our report from the Pentagon through open records requests and the “Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006.” This report quantified all disclosed transfer of equipment, gear, and weaponry since 1993 that is in the current inventory of domestic law enforcement as of March 31, 2020. Search our interactive map to see all military equipment transferred to local police agencies under Program 1033 by ZIP Code across America. Just click a pin (ZIP Code) and scroll down to review the results rendered in the chart beneath the map. BACKGROUND “In the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal years 1990 and 1991, Congress authorized the transfer of excess Department of Defense (DoD) property to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Congress later passed the NDAA for fiscal year 1997, which allows law enforcement agencies to acquire property for bona fide law enforcement purposes – particularly those associated with counter-drug and counter-terrorism activities.” Source: Defense Logistics Agency website. Approximately 8,200 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies from forty-nine states and four U.S. territories participated in the program. The DoD transfers two kinds of property: controlled and non-controlled. Controlled property includes small arms/personal weapons, demilitarized vehicles, aircraft, etc. These items are loaned to law enforcement while the DoD retains the title. Non-controlled property consists of common items such as office equipment, computers, first aid kits/ supplies, hand tools, sleeping bags, clothing, etc. The ownership of non-controlled property transfers after one year. 2 OPENTHEBOOKS.COM | A PROJECT OF AMERICAN TRANSPARENCY | 501(c)(3) OPENTHEBOOKS OVERSIGHT REPORT | PROGRAM 1033 – $1.8 BILLION IN MILITARY GEAR TRANSFERRED TO LOCAL POLICE AGENCIES Prologue.............................................................................................. 1 Scope & Methodology and Background......................................... 2 Contents.............................................................................................. 3 Top 10 Takeaways............................................................................... 4 PART 1: THE GEAR......................................................... 6 Program 1033 Selected Items Transferred....................................... 7 Interactive Map.................................................................................... 9 PART 2: CASE STUDIES................................................ 10 TOP 10 STATES RECEIVING THE MOST MILITARY GEAR.......... 11 California............................................................................................. 12 Texas.................................................................................................... 14 Florida.................................................................................................. 16 New York............................................................................................. 18 CONTENTS Pennsylvania....................................................................................... 20 Illinois................................................................................................... 22 Ohio...................................................................................................... 23 Georgia................................................................................................ 26 North Carolina.................................................................................... 28 TOP 3 LEAST POPULOUS STATES RECEIVING MILITARY GEAR 30 Alaska.................................................................................................. 30 Vermont............................................................................................... 33 Wyoming.............................................................................................. 34 APPENDIX..................................................................... 35 1033 Program By State....................................................................... 36 1033 Program By U.S. Territory......................................................... 37 1033 Program By Item Over $100k.................................................. 38 Previous Oversight.............................................................................. 54 About American Transparency.......................................................... 55 OPENTHEBOOKS.COM | A PROJECT OF AMERICAN TRANSPARENCY | 501(c)(3) 3 TOP 10 TAKEAWAYS THE PENTAGON transferred 581,034 items of surplus military gear worth $1.8 billion since 1993 – 1 an amount that only includes the items still held today by law enforcement agencies. HEAVY EQUIPMENT 2 Transfers included mine resistant vehicles (1,099 items, $743.8 million value); trucks (cargo, panel, van, dump, utility, lift, and military) (3,465 items, $251 million value); helicopters (344 items, $83.6 million value); airplanes (24 items, $104.8 million value); and armored trucks and cars (284 items, $24.4 million value). WEAPONRY 3 Transfers included rifles, 5.56mm and 7.62mm (66,375 items, $26.2 million value); pistols, .38, .40, .45 caliber (7,339 items, $689,553 value); riot 12-guage shotguns (1,218 items, $121,611 value); bayonets (167 items, $11,690 value), and grenade launchers (7 items, $27,814 value). OTHER GEAR 4 Transfers included night-vision sights, sniper scopes, binoculars, telescopes, and goggles (131,358 items, $42 million value); mine detecting sets, marking kits, and probes (230 items, $599,341 million value). MILITARY ROBOTS 5 Transfers included remote controlled vehicles, underwater vehicles, explosive ordnance disposal, and stun devices (451 items, $20.4 million value). 6 TOP 10 STATES OHIO 1. CALIFORNIA | $153.1 MILLION CALIFORNIA NORTH CAROLINA 2. TEXAS | $144 MILLION TENNESSEE SOUTH CAROLINA 3. TENNESSEE | $133.7 MILLION ARIZONA GEORGIA 4. FLORIDA | $105.6 MILLION ALABAMA TEXAS 5. ARIZONA | $93.9 MILLION 6. ALABAMA | $88.7 MILLION FLORIDA 7. S. CAROLINA | $76.3 MILLION 8. OHIO | $66.9 MILLION