S.C. Law Enforcement has Received Military Equipment

Anderson City Police and the Anderson County Sheriff's Department has received military equipment. The Travelers Rest Police Department has a Humvee. The Oconee County Sheriff's Office has a helicopter and an armored personnel carrier. The Pickens and Spartanburg County Sheriff's Offices both have MRAPS, Mine-resistant, Ambush-protected vehicles.

Why?

"The bad guys we're dealing with nowadays are becoming increasingly more militarized," said Travelers Rest Police Chief Lance Crowe.

Crowe's agency is one of many across the country that receives surplus military equipment through the U.S. Defense Department's 1033 program. By paying an annual "membership fee," police departments become eligible to receive surplus equipment free of charge, which means it doesn't cost taxpayers.

"We've received $200,000 worth of things through the 1033 program in the few short years we've been a part of it," Crowe said. "This is $200,000 the City of Travelers Rest did not have to pitch in to our operational budget."

Travelers Rest is not alone. In the last two years, police agencies across South Carolina have amassed nearly $24 million in surplus military equipment, according to records obtained by WYFF News 4 Investigates.

Upstate police agencies that participate in the 1033 program include the Anderson County Sheriff's Office, Anderson City Police Department, Greenville County Sheriff's Office, Wellford Police Department, Travelers Rest Police Department, Seneca Police Department, Greenwood County Sheriff's Office, Pickens County Sheriff's Office, Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office, Union Department of Public Safety, Seneca Police Department, Westminster Police Department, Williamston Police Department, Campobello Police Department, Lyman Police Department, Mauldin Police Department, Oconee County Sheriff's Office and West Union Police Department.

President Obama has ordered a review of the program to see if local police agencies are properly trained to use military weapons. The review stems from outrage over photos and videos of police in Ferguson, Missouri using military-style weapons in the face of protesters.

When asked if police are becoming too militarized, Crowe gave a resounding"no."

"The criminals at Columbine, they were fairly militaristic. The shooting in Abbeville where officers were killed a few years back, that required a militaristic response. Certain situations require a stepped up response," Crowe said.