Cut out of the local police report. I got really excited reading "The Ithaca Police SWAT Team ..." thinking the Ithaca Police did actually have something to do but then I read the rest. Haha.
Tuesday, August 25, 20091 comments: |
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Just noticed your article clipping. Here's what I wrote to the Ithaca Journal as well as other News sources:
If you guys are looking for a story, I highly recommend the following. Many of us here in Ithaca, NY have been concerned with the Ithaca Police Department (IPD) spending recently as I have read in your earlier news articles. I have also noticed that the IPD just recently purchased a new SWAT team mobile unit. The following article details how the $500,000 unit was paid for:
http://www.ci.ithaca.ny.us/vertical/Sites/%7B5DCEB23D-5BF8-4AFF-806D-68E7C14DEB0D%7D/uploads/%7B9E9B6557-1F91-4994-BA5D-11D54E468B58%7D.PDF
It appears that $250,000 of the cost was paid for by taxpayers while another $68,000 of the cost was paid with "Homeland Security Funds."
Here is an article published in a recent edition of The Ithaca Journal (our local paper) indicating that "The city spent $979,000 in overtime in 2009 and of that total, police and fire accounted for $871,729:"
http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20104090386
Here's a website that explains what a waste of taxpayer's money "Homeland Security Funds" really are:
http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/homeland_security/map/
For example, the website mentions that "In West Virginia, authorities used $3,000 for lapel pins and tens of thousands more went to unallowable overtime."
If you click on New York, the website indicates the following:
Another document questions nearly $934,000 worth of personnel charges that covered routine patrols in Buffalo during an “orange” heightened alert period.“ These costs would have been incurred by the city regardless of the terror alert level,” the report found.
Here's where I get into the realm of conspiracy theories. Just ignore what I have to say here if you think it is a little "over the top." But take a look at what is happening in Greece right now, and the fact that their economic crisis might spill into the United States:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlnOv-tVpYw
It appears that the IPD mobile command unit may be in preparation of something much bigger.
Conspiracy theories aside, here is what the IPD has been doing with their new SWAT team truck:
http://cornellsun.com/section/news/content/2009/03/02/ithaca-swat-team-raids-collegetown-house-drugs
Was it really necessary to spend half a million dollars on a SWAT truck?