At its Monday, September 23 meeting, the Greenbelt City Council voted to accept a report from the Community Relations Advisory Board (CRAB) concerning local police departments obtaining and using military equipment. Accepting the report means that council will consider the topic at an upcoming meeting.
Council asked CRAB to report on this issue in 2017 after a group of Greenbelt residents submitted a petition to council. The petition called for Congress to stop the 1033 program, which transfers excess military equipment to civilian law enforcement agencies. The petition was signed by “Greenbelters who do not want military equipment as part of our police department’s arsenal … and who do not want the police considering the public to be the enemy.”
“Our communities are not warzones,” Greenbelt resident Elizabeth Gaines wrote in the original petition. “Grenade launchers, tanks and equipment built for combat zones don’t belong in local law enforcement for use against citizens.” CRAB’s report outlines recommended steps council and city government should take to meet the needs of both petitioner’s concerns and the Greenbelt police department. However, board members concluded that they did not have legal power to recommend Congress terminate program 1033. Instead, they recognized that civilian oversight is necessary to maintain a strong relationship between community members and police.
The report stated, “While sometimes outwardly apparent military equipment may be required for protection, as a community we must be diligent to ensure that it remains a rare exception and does not become the norm.” CRAB also called for police to minimize the “outward militaristic appearance” of their equipment. For example, armored personnel carriers should be painted blue and Greenbelt logos should be placed on military equipment.
CRAB encouraged council and other advisory committees to monitor the issue and provide opportunities for the community to share concerns if more military equipment is acquired. According to the report, CRAB recommends that the city manager ensure that the following steps are taken in sequence whenever local police need to use military equipment: The mission need for any piece of equipment is identified first. The item to fulfill the need is identified along with the cost. A surplus catalog is reviewed to order the item. If appropriate, the items can be acquired for free (through program 1033).
For the past three years, CRAB has been working with Police Chief Richard Bowers, representatives of community organizations and Gaines to better understand the issue of police militarization and make reasonable and sustainable recommendations to the city council. Bowers met with CRAB members in June to answer questions about military equipment currently in use and the type of training Greenbelt police undergo.
CRAB co-chair Jamie Krauk said, “We (CRAB) took numerous opportunities to meet with the petitioner and police force to take time and understand how the use of military equipment could drive more barriers and create an us vs them mentality between police and the community.” Krauk continued, “Police should enforce an appearance of being part of the community rather than separate.” According to Assistant City Manager and CRAB liaison David Moran, the petition is not the first police-related issue to which this committee has responded. “The topics CRAB deals with tend to differ. Community relations is a broad topic,” Moran said. The original purpose of CRAB is to “foster sympathetic understanding” and “practical cooperation among all groups and individuals in the community,” according to their website mission statement. The report will be shared with council and the petitioner, said Moran. It is also available for the public to read online at: legistarweb-production. s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ attachment/pdf/436514/ Report_2019-2.pdf.