City Council Tells Cops To ‘Tank the Tank’ In Davis, California

More of this, please! In Davis, California, the
city council has given local police 60 days to kindly dispose of
the military tank it was gifted from the federal government.
According to CBS Sacramento,
the Davis City Council acted Tuesday under pressure from
residents who had been circulating a petition against the
mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicle and demanding the
local police department “tank the tank”, as one protestor’s shirt
read.

From CBS: 

The vehicle, worth nearly $700,000 didn’t cost the Davis Police
Department a dime, as it was acquired through a federal government
surplus program. The MRAP was developed by the military for
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. After Pentagon budget cuts, the
vehicle has been making its way to local law enforcement.

Davis Police Chief Landry Black made the department’s case for
the acquisition, showing high-power weapons his officers have
confiscated this year.

A big concern for protesters is the vehicle could be used to
quash peaceful protests and demonstrations, especially in light of
clashes between heavily-armored police and protesters in Ferguson,
Missouri, following the shooting death of Michael Brown.

And here’s the money quote of the story, for it’s perfect
cop-ness: 

“We enjoy a certain quality of life but none the less the real
world intrudes upon us from time to time,” Black said. 

You hear that? It’s all soccer practices and yard sales until
… what? What could possibly require the police in Davis,
California—population 65,622—to possess their own army-grade tank?
I’m glad the residents of Davis don’t seem too convinced of its
necessity, either. 

For more on military gear the Department of Defense is giving to
small-town cops—along with bouncy castles and French horns—see
this post from Reason Foundation’s Lauren Galik.