Congress could do something about militarizing local police

The training video at the top of this post isn't from the U.S. military preparing for action in Afghanistan—it's not even from Ferguson, Missouri. It's from Doraville, Georgia, population 8,842, and home to a police department with a fully stocked SWAT team to defend a community that has had one murder in the last 5 years.

Doraville's police department is one of the dozens of law enforcement agencies in Georgia that have received $200 million in military equipment from the Department of Defense through a program designed to supply local governments with excess weaponry. This program is a big part of the reason that it's becoming harder to tell police departments apart from Special Forces teams, and if Congress wanted to put it to a halt, they could.

But the last time the issue came up in the House—just two months ago—Republicans and Democrats alike voted to continue funneling military equipment to local police departments. Just 43 Democrats and 19 Republicans voted in favor of curtailing the program. But that needn't been the final story: If Congress wants help end the trend of turning police departments into military forces, it could vote to end the Department of Defense program. And if it fails to act, then it's getting exactly what it asked for.