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Police Militarization Issue Put Before State Lawmakers

Lawmakers in Frankfort heard testimony on the militarization of law enforcement agencies.

Peter Kraska, a professor of Justice Studies at Eastern Kentucky University, told the panel that police departments in the U.S. are beginning to resemble military units as they acquire surplus equipment from the armed forces.

"The issue here is not whether the police should have the necessary gear and weaponry to protect themselves and American citizens. The issue is the normalization of the military model into democratic civilian policing," he said.

Though critical of the trend, Kraska said he doubts police forces in Kentucky are instinctively militaristic. Still, he cautioned that moves in that direction can happen very quickly during a crisis.

Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police president Richard Sanders argued even if tools such as armored vehicles are only used rarely, citizens expect an effective response in the case of emergencies.

"If you're child is in J-town High school and we have an active shooter scenario there, you're going to say Chief Sanders, what are you doing to rescue my child? And I'm going to tell you we're going to everything in our power to do that and I hope we have the tools to do it," Sanders said.

Kraska and Sanders testified before House and Senate members of the Local Government Committee.

Josh James fell in love with college radio at Western Kentucky University's student station, New Rock 92 (now Revolution 91.7). After working as a DJ and program director, he knew he wanted to come home to Lexington and try his hand in public radio.