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Fight over armored police vehicles grows

Posted at 7:00 PM, Dec 08, 2015
and last updated 2015-12-08 19:00:30-05

There is more pressure on President Obama to change his mind and return some heavy-duty armored personnel carriers to local police departments in Michigan.

A letter signed by 6 of our members of congress is going to the White House. It was written after 7 Action News contacted many of them asking for their position on the vehicles.

At issue are armored personnel carriers that were excess military equipment and given to 15 local police agencies in Michigan and in several other states.

After clashes between police and protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, President Obama signed an executive order to return them to the feds.

Then came the mass shooting in California and manhunt for unknown active shooters.

That happened just as these units were being returned on the presidential deadline.

The letter to the president says in part:

We urge you to rescind the ban on the transfer of certain equipment under the 1033 Program that your Law Enforcement Equipment Working Group has classified as "militaristic in nature."

As we learned in the attack in San Bernardino, California, local police and emergency personnel are on the front lines of this new phase in the terrorists' war against us.

It is signed by 6 of our members of congress.

There is no timeline on when or if the president will respond.