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| California police donating tons of equipment to Iraqi police |
| 2004-02-21 |
| Edited for brevity. Site requires registration. :-P A brotherhood of California police is sending tons of surplus equipment today to their undermanned and poorly equipped Iraqi brethren in a goodwill gesture all hope will snowball into something historic. Fresno homicide Detective Mike Harris, 51, who came up with the idea in December, said he believes the sooner Iraqi police are trained and equipped, the quicker U.S. combat troops can come home. "Operation Brotherhood of the Badge" is sending the first shipment of equipment with a planeload of Marines later today from March Air Reserve Base. Later shipments will be sent overseas from Lemoore Naval Air Station in the Central Valley. Five Central Valley law enforcement officers and military veterans are accompanying Marines and will personally deliver the gear to the Iraqi police force. Harris, a 30-year officer and military veteran, said he wanted to help overwhelmed Iraqi police and decided to enlist the 58,000-member California Peace Officers Research Association for which he serves as Central Valley president. He lined up fellow Fresno Officer Brian Burry, who is a California Army National Guardsman, and Madera police Officer Chuck Smith, a retired Air Force master sergeant, to work within the tight police fraternity where thousands of cops have been called to active duty in Iraq. First they passed the hat and sent $500 to help an Iraqi police officer wounded in a terrorist attack, and then they passed the word among all state police agencies about donating any surplus equipment. The campaign helps local police get rid of equipment that becomes costly to store and dispose of, Harris said. "You can’t sell it because it could get into the hands of bad guys. So you have to pay to destroy it and bury it at a landfill," he said. The equipment - mostly radios and batteries, bulletproof vests, belts and holsters, - has a limited shelf life and then is rotated with new equipment, Harris said. No weapons or tear gas will be sent overseas. But riot gear and helmets will be provided. The campaign, which Harris said has caught the eye of the White House, is first targeting the 480-person police force of Baqubah, 40 miles north of Baghdad, where U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians have been ambushed. They will get 300 vests, 150 portable radios and batteries, 1,000 pieces of leather equipment, such as holsters and belts, plus 300 police helmets and 200 pieces of riot gear. "These are just cops who’ve now become the focal point for the terrorists," said Burry, a Guard staff sergeant. Harris called the insurgents "thugs and criminals" who can be defeated with an organized Iraqi police force. The Guard’s 649th Military Police Battalion will be helping the five California men distribute the gear in Baqubah. "We have a chance to see a democratic society emerge in the Middle East," he said. "Some 200 years ago the same thing was happening in this country. And it was quite violent then, too." Smith believes California police officers can save Iraqi police lives. "Everybody we’ve spoken to has bought into this campaign. We can make history here." |
| Posted by:Dar |
| #2 Excellent idea. I wonder if the Hollywood left has problem with that too. Speaking of the hollywood traitors don't forget to watch the Oscar's. All your Favorites will be there. Tim Robbins his big mouthed wife Sarandon and of course their leader Michael moore. What a disgusting site and an affront to America they are. I love ranting., |
| Posted by: dataman1 2004-2-21 12:35:20 PM |
| #1 Good for them! Let's hope other police departments from around the country will do the same. Guess it's too much to hope the police departments in other countries will help their Iraqi brothers as well. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-2-21 10:37:58 AM |