Reply #27: Where do you think state police get money for gear like that?

[htuttle]

They get it from all those federal grants for the 'War On Drugs'. Most of those grants come with a lot of strings attached, too, like allowing the feds to assume command of state officers for multi-jurisdictional task forces, special federal training and indoctrination of officers, etc... so the state police become the 'state police, a subsidiary of the federal government'.

Look it up. Even happens in municipal police departments to some degree.