A federal effort to reuse military gear turned cops into commandos

The unsettling events in Ferguson started with the police shooting of an unarmed teenager, which set off nights of community protest and culminated in what some are calling a disproportionate response by police with heavy military gear, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
 
That "militarization" of community police departments started with selling used military equipment at a discount to local law enforcement. The used equipment is repurposed and thus not wasted, and cops can suit up at a discount.
 
But as Bloomberg Businesweek reports, the trend to outfit local police with equipment designed for war - and images of U.S. citizens facing local cops with military assault rifles, tanks and armored personnel carriers - has started a national discussion. Do neighborhood police need war-grade equipment to do an effective job? Or is this a slippery slope that could easily create a police state if such equipment is misused?

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