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Feds Ramp up Purchase of Riot Gear in Wake of COVID-19 Pandemic

Loaded on June 15, 2020 by Douglas Ankney published in Criminal Legal News July, 2020, page 49
Filed under: COVID-19, Laser Weapons. Location: United States of America.

by Douglas Ankney

In preparation for what may aptly be described as “Mad Max Meets COVID-19,” the federal government has submitted “expedited purchase orders” for disposable cuffs, gas masks, ballistic helmets, riot gloves, and other protective equipment for the federal police assigned to guard Veterans Affairs (“VA”) facilities.

According to a May 17, 2020, report from theintercept.com, the special purchases were “in response to Covid-19 outbreak.”

The VA police officers were not armed until 2011 — when the Pentagon began providing military equipment to police forces around the country.

Since then, those officers have “acquired millions of dollars’ worth of body armor, chemical agents, night vision equipment, and other weapons and tactical gear,” according to a 2019 report from The Intercept.

The VA, which manages nearly 1,500 health-care facilities around the U.S., has also extended special contracts for coronavirus-related security services. More than $1.6 million in contracts has been awarded to Redcon Solutions Group (a private security company founded by Iraq War veterans) to provide guards for “Covid-19 screening security guard services.” Similar contracts have been awarded to other private security firms to guard VA facilities in San Francisco, Des Moines, Fayetteville, and elsewhere.

Additionally, the $2.2 trillion CARES Act stimulus package that was passed in March 2020 included $850 million for the Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding Program. These funds are used by local governments to pay for police overtime and medical personal protective equipment, unmanned aerial aircraft, security cameras, command center software, video analytics systems, training, and supplies for detention centers.

Ironically, during this same period of time, the U.S. has experienced a historic drop in violent crime. Apparently, the Feds believe this is the proverbial calm before the storm. 

 

Source: theintercept.com

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More from this issue:

  1. A Nation on the Brink, by Christopher Zoukis
  2. Office of Homeland Security Circumventing Warrant Requirement by Buying Cellphone Location Data from Marketing Firm, by Anthony Accurso
  3. From the Editor, by Richard Resch
  4. Using Location Surveillance to Fight COVID-19 May Chill Free Speech and Association, by David Reutter
  5. This Is Not a Revolution. It’s a Blueprint for Locking Down the Nation, by John W. Whitehead
  6. Fourth Circuit Expands Savings Clause of § 2255(e) to Include Later Retroactivity of New Rule, by Dale Chappell
  7. Seventh Circuit: Defendant’s Statement Given to Pretrial Services Can’t Be Admitted to Impeach Witness at Trial, by Douglas Ankney
  8. California Court of Appeal Explains Procedural Requirements for Vacating Felony-Murder Conviction Via Section 1170.95 Petition, by Douglas Ankney
  9. Police Violence Detrimental to Public Health, by Douglas Ankney
  10. Congressmen File Amicus Brief Stressing Congressional Intent That First Step Act’s New Drug Laws Apply at Resentencing, by Dale Chappell
  11. Indiana Supreme Court: Removal of Police’s GPS Tracker on Suspect’s Vehicle Not Probable Cause of Theft, Suppression of Evidence, by Anthony Accurso
  12. New Hampshire Supreme Court: Police Violated Miranda in Obtaining First Statement, and State Failed to Prove Second Statement Was Voluntary, by Douglas Ankney
  13. 5-Year Study Shows Police Stop Black Drivers Less Often at Night When ‘Veil of Darkness’ Obscures Race, by Douglas Ankney
  14. Declassified Court Ruling Details FBI Abuses of Mass Surveillance Data, by Anthony Accurso
  15. Second Circuit: Three Important Rulings Under First Step Act, by Dale Chappell
  16. Marijuana Possession in Virginia Remains Illegal But Is Decriminalized, by Douglas Ankney
  17. Eleventh Circuit Holds Hobbs Act Robbery Doesn’t Trigger Career Offender Enhancement, by Dale Chappell
  18. COVID-19 Creates Opportunity for Big Brother in the Sky, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
  19. Biden Accuser Accused of Inflating Credentials to Qualify as Expert Witness, Calling Convictions into Question, by Derek Gilna
  20. Perjurous New York City Cop Sentenced to a Single Day in Jail, by Edward Lyon
  21. Nebraska Supreme Court: Multiple Theft Charges for Stealing Items Belonging to Several People at Same Time and Place Violates Double Jeopardy, by Dale Chappell
  22. Fourth Circuit: Standalone Rehaif Error Requires Automatic Vacatur of Guilty Plea, by David Reutter
  23. Is the Death Penalty Slowly Dying Across the Nation?, by Chad Marks
  24. Joint State-Federal Task Forces Practice Rogue Justice Under Protection of Qualified Immunity, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
  25. Colorado Supreme Court: Requiring Defense to Disclose Exhibits to Prosecution Before Trial Violates Due Process Rights, by Dale Chappell
  26. Iowa Supreme Court Orders Dismissal of Charges that State Brought in Breach of Plea Agreement, by Douglas Ankney
  27. Justice Office Awards $145 Million in Forensic Science Grants, by Anthony Accurso
  28. Carpenter Slowly Remaking Fourth Amendment Case Law, by Anthony Accurso
  29. California Federal Court Rejects Plea Agreement’s Waiver of Compassionate Release Provision, by David Reutter
  30. Aggressive NYPD Police Tactics Spreading COVID-19, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
  31. COVID-19 Causing Some Pretrial Detainees to Spend More Time in Jail, by Douglas Ankney
  32. California Supreme Court Announces Sentencing Law Changes Apply Until Revocation Sentence Becomes Final, by Anthony Accurso
  33. NY Court of Appeals: Right to Review Suppression Decision When Decision Relates Solely to a Count Satisfied by Plea but Isn’t Count to Which Defendant Pled, by Douglas Ankney
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  35. Plenty of Practice Prevents Poor Police Performance, by Edward Lyon
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  40. DNA Database of NYC’s Chief Medical Examiner Plagued with Errors, by Douglas Ankney
  41. South Carolina Supreme Court Rejects U.S. Supreme Court’s Shifting of Burden to Defendant to Prove Absence of Exigent Circumstances in DUI Cases, by Douglas Ankney
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  43. Report: Risk Assessment Tools not Effective, Especially When not Used, by Kevin Bliss
  44. Sixth Circuit: District Court’s Refusal to Reduce Crack Sentence Under First Step Act Requires Justification, by Dale Chappell
  45. Florida Supreme Court Abandons Circumstantial Evidence Review Standard, by David Reutter
  46. Courts Oppose Prosecutors’ Attempts to Right Past Wrongs, by Douglas Ankney
  47. No Trust Between Police and Communities They Patrol, by Kevin Bliss
  48. COVID-19 May Ring in a New Era of High-Tech Private Policing, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
  49. North Carolina Supreme Court: Giving Finger to Police Not Disorderly Conduct Justifying Traffic Stop, by Dale Chappell
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  51. Feds Ramp up Purchase of Riot Gear in Wake of COVID-19 Pandemic, by Douglas Ankney
  52. Army Veteran Serving Life Without Parole for Taking $9, by Douglas Ankney
  53. Sixth Circuit Vacates Firearms Possession Conviction; Government Showed Jury Unauthenticated Prejudicial Facebook Video Not Admitted as Evidence, by Matthew Clarke
  54. News in Brief

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