Oklahoma scraps military surplus program

<br>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ State officials say a federal program that offers military surplus equipment to law enforcement agencies is too much trouble to administer. <br><br>No one in state government wants

Monday, October 14th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ State officials say a federal program that offers military surplus equipment to law enforcement agencies is too much trouble to administer.

No one in state government wants to handle the paperwork, compliance checks, legal liability and other strings attached to the federal Law Enforcement Support Office program.

``Believe me, it is fraught with problems,'' said Tom Jaworski, director of state purchasing.

The state must coordinate the program because federal agencies don't want to mess with hundreds of police and sheriff's departments that are looking for everything from gas masks and Kevlar vests to helicopters.

Municipal purchasing staffs don't have enough people or expertise to handle paramilitary-type equipment such as Lawton's Navy blue ``Dragoon'' armored personnel carrier.

``When that thing shows up escorted between two police cars with lights flashing, it's a definite psychological advantage,'' said Michael Johnson, Lawton's deputy chief of police.

State purchasing arranges transfers of surplus small arms _ pistols and rifles _ from the military to law enforcement agencies.

Many states have had problems with larger military surplus programs, Jaworski said. States must perform compliance audits on military arms equipment, making sure that it goes to legitimate law enforcement agencies, that it remains with them and that it is used for a public purpose.

Jaworski also is concerned about problems with other non-arms surplus materials, some of which have been known to end up in private hands, sold on public auctions or otherwise funneled to nonqualifying owners.

A logical alternative to a full program, Jaworski said, would be for the Department of Public Safety to evaluate weaponry and other military equipment and to verify requesting departments and their needs.

The department, he said, has the law enforcement expertise needed to handle the program and the staffers who can evaluate federal law enforcement equipment.

``We have asked DPS to do that, and they will not do that,'' Jaworski said.

Public safety Commissioner Bob Ricks, on vacation and unavailable for comment, considered taking on the support program in 1999, spokesman Lt. Chris West said.

``For one reason or another, the commissioner opted not to do that,'' West said.

Like many law enforcement agencies, the Department of Public Safety has benefited from military surplus. It owns two used military helicopters, but West said those were obtained from the Missouri State Patrol and an Arizona sheriff's department through a different program.