LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A civil liberties group says a moratorium needs to be issued on the acquisition of military equipment by Nebraska law enforcement agencies.
Executive director Amy Miller of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska spoke at a forum on police equipment Monday. A crowd of more than 40 officers, civil libertarians and community leaders gathered in a conference room at the Lincoln Community Foundation.
Miller says law enforcement officials have been responsible in their use of military equipment, but that the potential exists for the equipment to escalate peaceful situations into violence.
The Lincoln Journal Star reports in the past five years, law enforcement agencies across Nebraska have acquired more than 118 military-grade weapons and two armored vehicles though a federal program.
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