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How a rural US sheriff’s department was able to obtain a military-grade vehicle

A sheriff’s department in a remote rural California county with only 18,000 people, no incorporated cities, few sworn officers and almost no crime, was able to obtain a second military-grade MRAP armored vehicle in 2017 by giving brief answers to a simple questionnaire, according to documents obtained under freedom of information requests.

MRAP stands for mine-resistant ambush protected, though the prospect of encountering mines or being ambushed would seem to be unlikely in even the toughest US police precincts.

The documents, provided to the Guardian by the transparency non-profit Property of the People, show how quickly Donald Trump’s 2017 reversal of the Barack Obama administration’s curtailment of the transfer of battlefield equipment to law enforcement agencies led to their renewed proliferation, and how little agencies had to do to demonstrate any real need for them.

The documents include Mariposa county sheriff’s office (MCSO) application for the second MRAP from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). The application in September 2017, about a month after Trump reversed a 2015 Obama executive order which prohibited the transfer of equipment like armored vehicles, grenade launchers and high-caliber weapons to civilian agencies.

With one-line or one-paragraph answers to 15 questions, the rural county sheriff was able to add the vehicle to its already extant Mamba MRAP, acquired in 2014.

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While Trying to Kill Family’s Dog, LAPD Cop Reportedly Shoots His Partner Instead

According to police, the 33-year-old man was holding a pair of scissors when officers arrived. He was accompanied in the home by his wife, mother-in-law and three small children — and the family’s pet Rottweiler.

Police say that during the response, an officer fired a shot which they suggested was directed at the dog. During the firing, a female officer was struck.

During an encounter, a female officer was struck by gunfire in the wrist, but it is unclear what led to the shooting. At some point, a fire extinguisher was used, apparently to try and control the dog. The officer had residue from the extinguisher on her boots, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said, according to KTLA.

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