An op ed piece by Brian Smith appearing today in the New York Daily News opines the need for police departments to have military-grade equipment to keep officers and the community safe.

As images from Ferguson are seared on the national consciousness, there’s a rare bipartisan consensus emerging in America today: Demilitarize the police.

Let’s hope other politicians think hard before they jump on the bandwagon. Local police forces need advanced technology — and powerful weaponry — to do the jobs we demand of them in a dangerous world.

The increased procurement of military-grade equipment such as armored vehicles, weapons and armor can be traced back to early post-9/11 days, when there was a strong fear a second major attack would occur, and our police, who serve as our frontline defense in every aspect at home, would carry the burden of meeting that attack.