Is your local police force facing noisy demonstrations from disgruntled citizens? Need some armoured Humvees or assault rifles from the US Department of Defense? Call 1-800-532-9946. That’s the phone number (no joke) for the Law Enforcement Support Office, or LESO, the government initiative tasked with redistributing excess military wares to civilian police around the country.
A video for the office, whose motto is ‘From warfighter to crimefighter’, helpfully explains how you can ‘get with the programme’. Follow the instructions and you can stock up on army surplus ranging from coffee machines and three-ring binders to almost-new M79 grenade launchers and helicopters last spotted evacuating troops from Afghanistan. Just submit a one-page form (lower third for office use only).
