Pentagon Halts Free Guns for Police

The Pentagon is putting the brakes on a $2.6 billion program that gives surplus military gear to law enforcement.

Officials at the Defense Logistics Agency say they won't hand out any more weapons until state coordinators can account for all the guns, aircraft, Humvees and armored personnel carriers police have already received.

Agency spokesman Kenneth MacNevin says the audit wasn't prompted by anything specific. But he says military officials considered inquiries from The Associated Press and stories by other media when they decided to order the review late last month.

The accounting could take a while — the program is two decades old, and the AP has found that many states keep their records on paper.

The military gave away nearly $500 million in gear last year under the program.