Law Enforcement Support Office
The program legally requires the DoD to make various items of equipment available to local law enforcement, ranging from supplies to materiel.
[7] Proponents of the program argue the equipment acquired from LESO protect police officers and civilians, may be necessary at any time in the event of a terrorist attack or mass shooting, and are not heavy military weaponry such as armed combat vehicles.
[15] In May 2015, President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13688, limiting and prohibiting the transfer of certain types of weapons and equipment to law enforcement agencies through the 1033 Program, including large-caliber weaponry, tracked armored vehicles, grenade launchers, and camouflage.
Section 12 prohibited or limited to specific uses the transfer of a number of military items, including firearms of .50 caliber or greater, silencers, bayonets, vehicles without a commercial application, explosives, weaponized drones, and long-range acoustic devices.
[5] The program offers a variety of military weapons and equipment to police, ranging from handguns and bulletproof vests to assault rifles and high-caliber firearms.
The largest number of requests come from small to mid-sized police departments who are unable to afford extra clothing, vehicles, and weapons.
[30] A memorandum of agreement between the DLA and the states participating in the program requires that police either use their received equipment within one year or return it.
[7] After The Arizona Republic newspaper reported the misconduct, the DLA "announced agency-wide reforms", Babeu was ordered to "retrieve vehicles and other equipment his office distributed to non-police organizations", and 1033 Program weapons requisitions were temporarily suspended and audited nationwide.
[45] In 2003, a Department of Defense Office of Inspector General audit found incorrect or inadequate documentation in about three-quarters of the transactions analyzed, declaring LESO records unreliable.
[citation needed] DLA public affairs chief Kenneth MacNevin stated in 2012 that "more than 30 Arizona police agencies have been suspended or terminated for failing to meet program standards and nine remain under suspension".
According to Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the suspension did not affect the MCSO's acquisition of weaponry, as they could already afford them using anti-racketeering funding and confiscated narcotics proceeds.
[47] Fusion reported in August 2014 that a total of 184 state and local police departments had been suspended from the program for missing weapons and failure to comply with guidelines.
[citation needed] Public, scholarly, and political criticism of LESO and the 1033 Program increased following the Ferguson unrest in 2014, the Baltimore protests in 2015, and the George Floyd protests in 2020,[49] when police used vehicles and equipment acquired from the program for riot control, which is prohibited,[25] as opposed to their intended use in tactical operations, drug enforcement, and counterterrorism.
Kara Dansky, senior counsel for the ACLU, alleged that the federal government is deliberately militarizing police through the 1033 Program to use them against minority communities.
[23] Responding to reports of missing weapons, Alessandra Soler, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona, opined that it "wasn't surprising" due to the lack of oversight and public transparency in the 1033 Program.
[18] According to a 2017 study by social scientist Casey Delehanty and colleagues, larger 1033 Program transfers are associated with increased killings by police.
DoD press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby stated that the 1033 Program ultimately protects civilians and aids law enforcement across the U.S. in counterterrorism and anti-narcotic operations.
Rabinovich also stated that the transfer of retired MRAPs to police was a better use of the vehicles than selling them to foreign militaries or leaving them for scrap or disuse.
