New school supplies from the Pentagon. Deasy in L.A. grabs some M16s and grenade launchers.
All San Diego schools got from the Pentagon was this one lousy armored vehicle.
But the Wall St. Journal reports that LAUSD on the other hand, did much better. Supt. John Deasy has stocked up on grenade launchers, M16 rifles and even a multi-ton armored vehicle.
But the district is getting rid of the grenade launchers, which it never intended to use to launch grenades or use in a school setting, said Steven Zipperman, chief of the Los Angeles Schools Police Department. The launchers, received in 2001, might have helped other police in the county disperse crowds by shooting rubber munitions, he said.As for the massive MRAP armored vehicle. Mr. Zipperman said his department thought it could be useful for evacuations and to save lives in a "sustained incident." Maybe like a sharp decline in test scores.
In Texas, near the Mexican border, the sprawling Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District has 34,700 students and operates its own SWAT team, thanks in part to military gear it received in recent years from the federal program. The gear included two Humvees and a cargo truck, as well as power generators, said district Police Chief Ricardo Perez. The district applied for weapons, too, but wasn't given any, so instead purchased its own M4 and AR-15 assault-style rifles, he said.
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| Granite School Dist. Police Chief Randy Johnson checks out new school supplies. |