- Washington 09/09/2014 by Linda Perry (WBAI)

Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill led a Senate hearing on the militarization of local police forces on Tuesday.

She's from the state which saw protests in Ferguson, over the death of unarmed black 18 year old Mike Brown by white police. And it’s the state which saw a military style police force confront demonstrators.

Images of officers using equipment originally intended for use by combat soldiers were seen on social media and television screens across the nation by outraged viewers. The Senate Homeland Security Committee grappled with the how to deal with large quantities of military equipment given to local police forces without any real oversight, training or local community input.

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