Utahns favor police departments having access to military-style weapons, but they're split down the middle on whether that makes those same police departments too "militarized."
A new UtahPolicy.com poll conducted by Dan Jones and associates finds 56% of Utahns support police departments using military equipment, while 31% are opposed.
The debate has bubbled to the fore over the past few weeks after the shooting of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri. Police there used military-style equipment there during protests following the shooting.
However, they don't seem to have much of an impact here as most Utahns clearly support police having access to that kind of equipment.
That same poll finds 41% of Utahns say police departments have become too much like the military while the same number disagree. 19% either are neutral on the subject or say they don't know.
We also asked what threats would justify local police departments using military weapons and equipment. While no scenario won a majority, Utahns rationalize military equipment equipment could be used during heavily armed threats, riots, against terrorists or against "general threats." Just 14% say there is no scenario where the use of military equipment would be acceptable.
The survey was conducted August 26-28 among 406 likely voters. It has a margin of error of +/- 4.9%.
[Editor's note: Zions Bank is a major sponsor of UtahPolicy.com, which makes production of these public opinion polls possible.]
