The 1033 program …transferred surplus military-grade equipment from the Pentagon to police, [and] didn’t require any training or oversight for the equipment’s use. …Police had to deploy the equipment at least once within a year to keep it, [providing the motivation] to use the gear when it wasn’t necessary.

Police often deployed military-grade equipment …sometimes agitating the situation and causing demonstrations to unnecessarily escalate into tense and even violent conflicts.

The federal government has helped the militarization of police – Vox

hmmm