Syracuse common councilors agreed this week to accept more military hardware for the police department through a state grant program, but not every lawmaker is on board with accepting the equipment.
Among the items on the list of equipment the $100,000 grant will obtain are: entry rams, tubular assault equipment and a Bearcat Ram-Cam four-way monitor. Democrat Jean Kessner wonders why police need it.
"We're a city. We're not a war zone," Kessner said. "I don't know what they are. I can't pretend to know, and that's kind of a problem."
Kessner would like more information from police about how this equipment would be used. She was the only lawmaker who voted against the request. Ultimately, Kessner says she'd rather see that state money spent on programs that attack the root causes of poverty that often lead to crime.
"I don't know how a bear ram-cam, whatever, is going to solve some of our problems -- or any of our problems," Kessner said.
