Rat Watch: Amendment Seeks Exception from Ban on Military Equipment for West Haven.

The militarization of the police continues. A group of legislators has proposed an amendment to skirt last year’s ban on municipal police departments acquiring controlled vehicles, highly mobile multi-wheeled vehicles, and mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles. The ban was enacted as an element of 2020’s police reform bill.

The militarization of local police departments has caused unease along a wide swath of the political spectrum. A bipartisan coalition of ten (10) legislators is proposing an exception. The group of Senate and House members would allow West Haven to purchase Farmington’s mine-resistant, ambushed protected vehicle by January 1, 2022.