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Stockpile of Military Items in Gliniewicz Boy Scouts Explorer Post
Fox Lake IL Authorities Investigating Stockpile of Military Items in Gliniewicz Explorer Post
Disgraced lieutenant had accumulated hundreds of items earmarked for police, not scouts
By Phil Rogers
Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/Fox-Lake-Stockpile-Military-Items-Gliniewicz-Explorer-
Authorities in Fox Lake have locked the door of the former Police Explorer post, in the basement of a community center on the city’s west side. That basement is packed to the rafters with military equipment, which investigators say the Explorers, and their controversial leader, Lt. Joe Gliniewicz, never should have had.
A week after declaring that the lieutenant’s death was a “carefully staged suicide,” investigators took NBC5 Investigates into Gliniewicz’s former Explorer headquarters, revealing the mountains of military gear which even now is the subject of an intensive internal review. Acquired through an agency known as the Law Enforcement Support Office, those items are supposed to be requisitioned for use in bona fide police departments -- not Explorer Posts.
But in the Gliniewicz post, there they were: Kevlar helmets, radios, ballistic vests, combat boots, gas masks and gun belts by the hundreds. And investigators believe it was the increasing pressure to account for those items, which caused Gliniewicz to take his own life.
Under the LESO program, surplus military equipment is supposed to be made available to local police departments. But Keller says in Fox Lake, it never found its way to the police department, because Gliniewicz ordered it himself.
“When a department obtains the equipment, it’s not meant for Explorer posts,” he said. “The police department doesn’t even have this equipment. Many police departments don’t have this equipment.”
The former Explorer clubhouse is literally packed with military gear. Holsters by the dozens, ballistic helmets, combat fatigues, army cots. And, a find which Keller found especially disturbing, manuals on SWAT tactics and sniper training.
“Essentially the kids were being trained to kill on command,” he said. “And I don’t think that’s the intention of the Explorers, or what the Boy Scouts intended them to be.”
Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/Fox-Lake-Stockpile-Military-Items-Gliniewicz-Explorer-Post-347342121.html#ixzz3rOXc3KXn
Follow us: @nbcchicago on Twitter | nbcchicago on Facebook
A week after declaring that the lieutenant’s death was a “carefully staged suicide,” investigators took NBC5 Investigates into Gliniewicz’s former Explorer headquarters, revealing the mountains of military gear which even now is the subject of an intensive internal review. Acquired through an agency known as the Law Enforcement Support Office, those items are supposed to be requisitioned for use in bona fide police departments -- not Explorer Posts.
But in the Gliniewicz post, there they were: Kevlar helmets, radios, ballistic vests, combat boots, gas masks and gun belts by the hundreds. And investigators believe it was the increasing pressure to account for those items, which caused Gliniewicz to take his own life.
Under the LESO program, surplus military equipment is supposed to be made available to local police departments. But Keller says in Fox Lake, it never found its way to the police department, because Gliniewicz ordered it himself.
“When a department obtains the equipment, it’s not meant for Explorer posts,” he said. “The police department doesn’t even have this equipment. Many police departments don’t have this equipment.”
The former Explorer clubhouse is literally packed with military gear. Holsters by the dozens, ballistic helmets, combat fatigues, army cots. And, a find which Keller found especially disturbing, manuals on SWAT tactics and sniper training.
“Essentially the kids were being trained to kill on command,” he said. “And I don’t think that’s the intention of the Explorers, or what the Boy Scouts intended them to be.”
Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/Fox-Lake-Stockpile-Military-Items-Gliniewicz-Explorer-Post-347342121.html#ixzz3rOXc3KXn
Follow us: @nbcchicago on Twitter | nbcchicago on Facebook
12 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
(Could not resist.)
