What Is Going On? Police Departments Buying Military Equipment. Are They Preparing For A Major Upheaval?

Police Need Military Gear to Fight War Vets?

In 2009, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano declared that returning veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts were “potential enemies of the state.”

Well, based on the fact that police and law enforcement officials across the nation have been buying surplus military equipment, it looks like they weren’t taking those warnings lightly.

Police in Morgan County, Indiana have procured several armed vehicles, complete with bulletproof windows and gun turrets in an effort to combat the threat returning veterans allegedly pose.

Dan Downing, who works with Morgan County Sheriff’s Department, said the reason they accepted these surplus vehicles was because they were dealing with a different kind of violence than what they had seen in previous years.

He said:

“The weaponry is totally different now than it was in the beginning of my career, plus, you have a lot of people who are coming out of the military that have the ability and knowledge to build IEDs and to defeat law enforcement techniques.”

But just because police feel they need the new machines doesn’t mean people in Morgan County aren’t concerned about the recent purchases.

Many are worried that these vehicles are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to seeing a full military-style occupation in their town.

After all, the first sign of a takeover usually starts with tanks in the streets.

However, Downing maintains that these vehicles aren’t meant to occupy or oppress anyone.

In an interview with Fox 59 he said:

We were actually approached when we’d stop to get fuel by people wanting to know why we needed this… what were we going to use it for? ‘Are you coming to take our guns away’” said Downing. “To come and take away their firearms… that absolutely is not the reason why we got this vehicle. We got this vehicle because of the need and because of increased violence that we have been facing over the last few years… I’ll be the last person to come and take anybody’s guns.”

The problem is this: Homeland security along with local and state law enforcement agencies continue to label returning veterans as “potential threats.”

And with more and more vets (i.e. “potential threats”) coming back from overseas conflicts, it gives police departments (along with the DHS) the added incentive to use surplus vehicles for domestic use… because threat numbers are increasing.

Keep in mind these purchases aren’t just happening in Indiana.

In fact, states like Iowa and New Mexico, among others, along with the DHS have all purchased armored vehicles and other used military equipment in the past few years.

Though they might say they’re just using these vehicles for regular old police work, this news combined with news of more and more government agencies getting guns by the truckload indicates something much bigger is going down.