Is the Los Angeles Unified School District going to war sometime in the near future? Uh, no, not that we are aware of. But thanks to the Department of Defense's excess property program—which allows for local law enforcement agencies around the country to obtain military-grade weapons and vehicles—the LAUSD is going to be getting its hands on the mine-resistant armored vehicle that you see above as well as grenade launchers and other weapons that were originally designed and created for military use. And why are they getting them? Well, that's the question that everyone is trying to answer right now.
The San Diego Unified School District just received the same kind of armored vehicle and the district police chief there said that the vehicle could be used to transport entire classrooms full of kids from one place to another, if they were ever placed into serious danger. But to most people, er, make that just about all people, the idea of a school district needing access to an armored vehicle or grenade launchers just seems preposterous. And the parents of students in L.A. are already speaking out against the school district's idea to put these things into use.
The Los Angeles Times made a compelling argument for the use of some of the weapons that were given to the LAUSD recently (for example, they pointed out that school police are sometimes sent to help the LAPD out under certain circumstances). You can read their argument here. But doesn't it seem a bit excessive to have something like the vehicle pictured above patrolling the streets of Los Angeles on behalf of its schools?
[via KTLA]
