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But the rush to arm America’s police departments made oversight difficult. Grant programs overlapped. Money often flowed to state governments first before arriving in local police departments, making it hard to track. In 2009, auditors cited examples of state governments that could not verify what equipment local authorities had bought.The federal government also did not typically insist that local authorities be trained on how and when to use its new equipment. In recent days, retired military officers have bristled at the sight of police officers in Missouri walking the streets with guns drawn, pointed at protesters.“In the infantry, we teach ‘muzzle awareness,’ ” said Paul D. Eaton, a retired general who previously served as the Army’s chief of infantry at Fort Benning, Ga. “Their fingers are off the trigger. They are on the trigger guard. The barrel is either straight down or no higher than a 45-degree angle. The effort is to declare a presence, but not to declare you are on the offensive.”