Last week, it was reported that law enforcement in Missouri is preparing for the response to the upcoming grand jury decision on whether or not officer Darren Wilson should face charges for killing 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. in August. It's now been revealed that this preparation involves spending plenty of money on riot gear.
According to the Guardian, police in St. Louis County have spent well over six figures on equipment since August, when protests of Brown's death began:
A breakdown of the department’s spending since August on equipment intended for the policing of crowds and civil disobedience, which totals $172,669, was obtained by the Guardian from the county force.
Since the height of the protests, the department has spent almost $25,000 buying 650 teargas grenades, smoke-and-gas grenades, smoke canisters and “hornets nest” CS sting grenades, which shoot out dozens of rubber bullets and a powdered chemical agent upon detonation.
It has spent a further $18,000 on 1,500 “beanbag rounds” and 6,000 pepper balls, paintball-style projectiles that explode with a chemical irritant when they strike a protester. The department uses LiveX branded pepper balls, which are billed as ten times hotter than standard pepper rounds.
Another $77,500 has been spent on 235 riot gear helmets, 135 shields, 25 batons and 60 sets of shin guards, and other “uniform items”. A further $2,300 was used to buy another 2,000 sets of the plastic handcuffs that have been used to detain dozens of demonstrators plucked from crowds on West Florissant Avenue.
In addition, an estimated $50,000 has been set aside by the department for repair work for damaged police vehicles. However, in a sign that further clashes are expected, they are in fact “not repairing any vehicles until unrest is over”, a department inventory said.
Not wanting to cause concern, county police spokesman Sgt. Brian Schellman told Guardian that county police "[hope they] never have to use any of [it]." Still, he insisted that it is their duty to have the right means to maintain order: "But it is our responsibility to have proper equipment to keep our police officers and all citizens safe should violence break out anywhere at any time."
[via The Guardian and Fortress America]
