Michael Auslen and Brian Eason

The Indianapolis Star

INDIANAPOLIS — Textbooks, football and Greek life.

Keggers, marching bands and all-nighters.

A militarized campus police department armed with M-14 rifles and full riot gear?

Increasingly, at Indiana college campuses, you'll find all of the above.

Even as a national debate about militarized police forces rages in the aftermath of the Ferguson, Mo., police shooting, at least five Indiana universities already had armed their officers with military leftovers, according to an Indianapolis Star review of public records.

It's a trend that has supporters and detractors, some arguing that military-grade rifles and protective equipment will keep students and faculty safe in the case of a campus shooting, others concerned that a college is no place for military-style weaponry.

Florida International University, Ohio State University and Florida State University each have received surplus military equipment, according to Politico. The equipment received includes military-grade rifles, a Mine Resistant Ambush Protection (MRAP) vehicle and a Humvee.

Community and campus police in Indiana have obtained more than 4,400 items since 2010 through a program that distributes surplus military supplies, according to The Star's review. The agencies pay only the cost of delivery.

University police have obtained body armor, military vehicles and M-14 and M-16 rifles — high-powered weapons that remind Purdue University Calumet Police Chief Anthony Martin of ones he used in the Vietnam War.

"Particularly after we have just read about Ferguson, I have been re-evaluating the need of an M-14," said Martin. "It's a heavy weapon."

Blurring lines

The move toward what he calls a more militarized police force has been a long road, said Tim Lynch, director of the Project on Criminal Justice at the libertarian Cato Institute.

Despite years of buildup, the practice only recently erupted in controversy. In the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, police used weapons and armored vehicles to quell protests after a police officer fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown.

Nearly two weeks of protests followed and developed into a nationwide debate about the kinds of equipment to which police departments have access, the so-called militarization of America's police forces. Last week in Washington, lawmakers held hearings on the subject, and Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., called for limits to programs that supply police with military equipment.

Lynch argues that the proliferation of SWAT teams using military-grade equipment has blurred the lines between police and the military, two distinct groups that historically have pursued different missions.

"The military is trained to fight the enemy and wreak havoc on them," Lynch said. "With the civilian police, they are dealing with people who have constitutional rights, and we want them to avoid the use of force if possible and to use the minimum required to bring a suspect into a court of law."

On college campuses, police roles are even more narrowly defined: Police are there to protect students and faculty, said Martin, the Purdue Calumet police chief.

That's exactly why top brass at some Indiana colleges say they need surplus military materials.

"Police departments are typically not warriors; they're typically guardians of a community," said Jerry Minger, who oversees seven campus police departments at Indiana University. "How do you protect the community if you don't have the appropriate equipment to do so?"

A growing arsenal

At Indiana University-Bloomington, the equipment includes six M-16 rifles, according to records obtained from the Indiana Department of Administration. Paying only the cost of delivery offers departments big savings for weapons that originally cost the government $120 to $500.

Minger said the weapons have been modified so they're not fully automatic, which brings them more in line with the firearms police departments buy commercially.

The overwhelming impetus for obtaining high-powered weapons such as the M-14 and M-16 is the rise of school shootings.

Purdue police responded to an on-campus shooting in January, although the victim was targeted, distinguishing the slaying from scenarios at Columbine High School in Colorado and Virginia Tech. Minger said the prevalence of shootings has changed how campus police prepare.

"Perpetrators were using rifles and high-velocity weapons," he said. "If the criminals have that type of weapon, we need something to combat that with."

Not everything that Indiana campus police have obtained from military surplus is weaponry. IU first used the program for helmets and bulletproof vests, Minger said.

The Vincennes University Police Department has boats, a Ford F-10 pickup truck and a "deuce and a half," a 21/2-ton military cargo truck, said Police Chief James Jones. Officers use the vehicle as a mobile command center and the boats to patrol the Wabash River, which runs along the campus.

The equipment — vehicles, protective wear and weapons — is necessary, argue Jones and his counterparts. If they couldn't get them from surplus military stock, they would have to find other options.

Despite the controversy and hearings in Congress, Jones said the program is justifiable because it allows his department to be prepared in case something happens.

Indiana University's Minger said he understands why the M-16 rifles and other equipment cause concern.

"We really have evaluated it carefully and didn't try to have more equipment than we really needed or was really rational to have."