Obama to limit police access to military equipment

US President Barack Obama on Monday set new limits on police access to certain military equipment part of a larger federal government response aimed at preventing the kind of unrest seen in Ferguson, Missouri, last year, The Washington Times reported.

The move comes in conjunction with the release of a final report from Obama’s “Task Force on 21st Century Policing,” a working group started by the White House and designed to improve police departments’ relationship with minority communities and to identify ways to improve policing overall.

The lengthy report recommends that the federal government support new research into whether police officers’ work days should be shortened; calls on law enforcement agencies to cease all action related to federal immigration enforcement; supports body cameras for officers; and lists dozens of other steps the group believes police departments should take.

One of the task force’s most noteworthy findings is that police departments run a “substantial risk of misusing or overusing” certain kinds of military equipment provided or funded by the federal government, including tracked armored vehicles, high-powered firearms and other items.

As of Monday, the Obama administration will eliminate all police departments’ access to weaponized aircraft and vehicles, firearms and ammunition greater than .50 caliber, bayonets, grenade launchers and others.

The federal government also will require police departments to justify the need for Humvees, drones, battering rams and other items when requesting them from the federal government.