Angie Craig wants to make it easier for cops to get armored vehicles

[WhiskeyGrinder]

https://minnesotareformer.com/2024/05/15/angie-craig-wants-to-make-it-easier-for-cops-to-get-armored-vehicles-do-they-make-communities-safer/

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, Democrat of the 2nd Congressional District, has introduced legislation to make it easier for police departments to obtain armored, military-style vehicles.

The bill, which would roll back some of the Biden administration’s modest restrictions on armored vehicle acquisition, is a response to the fatal February shootings of three first responders in Burnsville. One armored vehicle was present at that standoff.

“Forty-one shots from a gunman’s rifle hit this vehicle as officers from Rosemount and Apple Valley tried to help their brothers,” Craig said in a floor speech on Wednesday. “We may have had even more injury and God forbid death that day, without this vehicle.”

But the death of three first responders despite the presence of an armored vehicle also underscores what the research shows about the effects of militarization on officer and community safety: Military-grade equipment doesn’t necessarily make officers or civilians safer, nor does it deter crime.

[marble falls]

1. She's making a knee jerk emotional response. Or she's in a conservative district with a strong conservative ...

... challengers and she's trying to establish her "tough on crime" bona fides.

Either way, when you give cops a hammer, every one else becomes a nail.

[dflprincess]

2. It's considered a swing district

And Republicans have their eyes on it this year.

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/03/22/gop-sees-opportunity-in-minnesotas-2nd-district-against-incumbent-craig

Money and attention are sure to pour into Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District again this year, where Democratic Rep. Angie Craig will face a yet-to-be-determined Republican challenger.

Most congressional districts in the nation and in Minnesota are considered either firmly Republican or Democratic. That’s not the case in the 2nd District, which comprises much of the south metro area, but also stretches deep into rural south-central Minnesota.

The combination of near-urban, suburban and rural voters makes the district viable ground for both parties.

The district’s Republican Party Chair, Joseph Ditto, said 2024 is his party’s best opportunity in years to defeat Craig, who won the prior three elections by close margins.

[marble falls]

3. So I get her position. Fact is, we need her to win.