Now that President Donald Trump has rescinded a ban on local law enforcement agencies getting military surplus equipment, both the Poplar Bluff Police Department and Butler County Sheriff's Department may check out what is available.
The departments will have access to the equipment after Trump recently signed an executive order rescinding the previous president's restrictions on the Department of Defense program.
"With the president lifting the ban on obtaining surplus equipment that we, as taxpayers, have already paid for, law enforcement can enhance citizens' and officers' safety with the acquisition of different items, which, in turn, saves taxpayers money and makes law enforcement much better prepared," said police Chief Danny Whiteley.
The police department, Whiteley said, has utilized the program in the past.
The program was initiated under President Bill Clinton in 1996, but was curtailed in 2015 by President Obama amid concerns about the militarization of local police agencies, which intensified in response to unrest in Ferguson, Mo., and other places.
Whiteley said the department acquired a Humvee, which has been used in response to flooding, ice storms, missing persons and "so forth."
"So far, with the Humvee, it has been a vehicle used (for) safety and in search and rescue," Whiteley said.
The department, he said, also got some "covert surveillance items a few years back before the ban was put on."
The equipment, according to Whiteley, was things "we certainly couldn't have afforded" otherwise.
Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs said his department was researching what was available in regards to vehicles and firearms, but then, "they shut it down."
Under the arrangement -- called the 1033 program -- eligible equipment is listed online, and departments submit requests detailing the justification for their equipment needs.
If granted, there reportedly is no fee other than travel expenses to pick up the equipment.
"We submitted (requests) for a lot of stuff we didn't get," but what equipment was received was put to use, Whiteley said.
"Anything with technology is always a huge asset," he said.
Although Dobbs hasn't opened the list to see what is available now as compared to the past, he said, he "absolutely" intends to.
"Vehicles are very expensive; that is a big one," Dobbs said. "Night-vision equipment, thermal-imaging equipment, that stuff is expensive."
Dobbs said his department could utilize a vehicle, such as the city's Humvee, during future flooding events.
(The SEMO News Services contributed to this report.)