Why would they need to 'purchase' something when they are given more than they can use from the Feds via direct grants, DLA and Dept. of Homeland Security. I know out here in Los Angeles a lot of that money went to education and training etc... The important question is why are the feds so invested in militarizing local law enforcement? Who benefits?
The soldier with boots on the ground is never the issue he's only the most visible part of the equation and while we argue over good cops/bad cops the plot continues from the top enslaving us all. This is not going to end well when reasonable rational Americans are willing to shrug and accept arbitrary execution without due process of our police and expect that somehow that will resolve with less restrictions as opposed to more. While the people behind this militarization process smile and continue the enslavement.
Edit: Sorry whitebb I've got a horrendous cold and am posting under the influence of tons of cold medicine LOL. Let me see if I can be more succinct in my argument.
There are many bad police currently but I'm arguing that is a symptom of a MUCH bigger issue that can't be solved by targeting the police. Until we fix the root cause, from the top, merely treating symptoms isn't a fix. Hope that was a little clearer