Not all Utah police forces are interested in, again, receiving guns from U.S. military

When the U.S. military resumes distributing firearms to local police, don’t look for Utah Highway Patrol Col. Mike Rapich to step in line. 

“We have no plans to pursue those,” said Rapich, the commander of UHP. 

Sgt. Greg Wilking, a spokesman for the Salt Lake City Police Department, said a lot of officers there already have firearms suited to their jobs, but the department might consider what is available from the Defense Department. 

“We’d have to look at it and weigh it and see what would be appropriate or necessary,” Wilking said. 

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in a speech Monday that the Trump administration would lift restrictions on the surplus gear the military provides police departments through what is called the 1033 Program. Congress created it in 1996. 

Over the years, police in Utah and elsewhere have received vehicles, blankets, first-aid kits and a variety of other supplies.

[Click here to see a list of gear your police force has acquired.]

M14 and M16 rifles as well as pistols were distributed until 2015, when the Obama administration, amid concerns about police tactics in Ferguson, Mo., and elsewhere, stopped providing firearms. 

According to a spreadsheet from the Defense Logistics Agency, the military office that oversees the 1033 Program, Utah’s police forces have received $9.6 million in surplus military equipment since 1998. Gear that can be used only a finite number of times or that can get soiled are granted to the police forces, but weapons and vehicles are considered to be on permanent loan. The recipients must account for the items and keep them in working order. 

No weapons have been issued to any Utah police forces since South Jordan police received 10 M16 rifles in January 2015, according to the records. But in the 2 1/2 years since then, Utah police forces have continued to receive those other kinds of gear.

The spreadsheet also shows that 11 Utah police forces received mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles, “MRAP” for short, between the start of 2013 and January of this year: the police departments in Brigham City, Cedar City, Hurricane, Salt Lake City, South Jordan; the sheriff’s offices in Iron County, Salt Lake County, Utah County, Washington County, Weber County; and the Utah Highway Patrol.

The MRAPs are valued by the Defense Logistics Agency at anywhere between $412,000 to $733,000. Among the Utah police forces that have not received an MRAP, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office has received the most equipment by value — $161,803.

Salt Lake City received its MRAP in January of this year. Wilking on Monday said he didn’t know if it had been deployed yet. The law-enforcement intent of the vehicle, he said, is to drive it into scenes where there is a standoff or someone shooting. 

“We’ve got to get somebody trained to drive it,” Wilking said. “We’ve been getting it outfitted and set up.”

Salt Lake City police over the years have received M16s from the 1033 Program. Wilking said the rifles still shot well, but were old and ”pretty banged up.” Most officers have bought their own AR-15s, a civilian version of the M16, and fitted them with scopes and other features. 

Bountiful Police Chief Tom Ross on Monday said his department’s honor guard uses M16s acquired through the 1033 Program in its ceremonies. The rifles are not issued by officers in the field. 

Ross, who also is president of the Utah Chiefs of Police Association, said the 1033 Program may provide a cost-effective way for some police departments to get weapons and safety gear to officers. 

“For some,” he said, “this may be the only way they’re able to afford what may become commonplace and necessary equipment.”