Not many bitter clingers in Maryland.
Local police departments in Maryland have received more than $12 million in excess equipment from the U.S. military — from a $400,000 “mine resistant vehicle” to a set of a dozen spoons valued at $3.06 apiece — through a federal program that has come under bipartisan scrutiny.
In all, local law enforcement agencies in the state have received more than 2,000 assault rifles, 873 semi-automatic handguns and 220 12-guage shotguns from the Department of Defense Excess Property Program since 2006, according to Pentagon data made public Friday.
Unused military equipment has flowed freely to police for years, but the practice received renewed attention last week after officers were seen in Ferguson, Mo., wearing camouflage and driving armored vehicles. Police and residents in Ferguson have clashed after the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, on Aug. 9.
The images prompted calls from Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill to review the program.