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The government has been dishing out excess equipment for a long time. If you have seen your state and locals with a two bladed Huey then it was a one dollar special from the Army. My local sheriff's dept has a surplus armored car (looks like a miniature BTR-60) from the Air Force.

With the drawdown in Iraq and Afghanistan a lot of MRAPs are becoming available. They are useful is certain situations, like covering open ground under fire, evacuating victims from the same area. That doesn't mean you should roll them out every time you serve a warrant.

The bigger question should be where the money is coming from. The answer is DHS grants. How should that grant money be used? I would say the first priority should be to support common goals that are in need every day. A perfect example of this is radio systems. It is hard to claim that upgrading a radio system will lead to out of control policing. It will lead to better policing and better mutual aid ability between state, local, and federal agencies. In addition an upgraded radio system gets used every day, not once in a blue moon.

Police organizations need to really look at the way they spend money and get the most benefit with their dollars. Less flash bangs and maybe more less lethal weapons. I think SWAT teams are necessary, but they need flexibility in their tactics. No knock warrants need to be the rare exception, and tossing around flashbangs needs to be understood as stupid and unnecessary.

I am concerned because I have seen a lot more flashbang use in car take downs recently. Haven't seen any used for a house entry. I also haven't seen any warrants on dwellings where the target hasn't been spotted recently by the same officers and agents serving the warrant. This problem with hitting the wrong house or hitting the former home has not been an issue in our area, because those things are supposed to be confirmed prior to receiving a warrant.