Police Conduct Counter Terrorism Training With Military

[From article]
In August of 2014, military helicopters flew low over residential neighborhoods of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, engaged in a series of night-time training exercises. The exercises involved the Naval Warfare Development Group - a "special forces" component of the U.S. Navy - and were aimed at enhancing urban combat tactics.
Just as they had two years earlier, military personnel had come to the Twin Cities to conduct counter-terrorism training operations in an urban environment. And just as before, those operations commenced with little advance notice to the public.
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As referenced by Kingsbury, the 2014 exercises had been solicited by the U.S. military via a letter delivered to Minneapolis mayor Betsy Hodges. The letter requested the Mayor's support for "low-intensity urban tactical training" by special forces personnel who are "constantly refining tactics to learn how to most effectively engage the enemy while ensuring the safety of non-combatants."
As with the 2012 exercises, it appears that plans were made to provide cross-training exercises for Minneapolis police officers. "Hopefully," Kingsbury's states in his e-mail, "we will have the opportunity to get some of our folks into the game like we did last time."
[. . .]
Navy's 2014 letter also stated that its exercises would help its personnel in "preserving evidence for criminal prosecution" and that the relationships established with urban law enforcement professionals would be critical to the Navy's "future success."
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Due to the existence of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, federal military personnel have largely been barred from participating in civilian law enforcement in a direct, operational capacity. While Congress has provided Posse Comitatus exceptions for logistics and counter-narcotics support, federal law still prohibits military personnel from engaging in arrests, evidence collection, and other tasks in support of domestic public safety and criminal prosecution.
Do the references to "evidence collection" by Navy personnel indicate that the military is actively preparing to undertake such operations on the domestic front? Or do the references point to some other function?
[. . .]
Minneapolis City Council Member Blong Yang was quoted on KSTP TV as saying that the Minneapolis City Council was "not notified of the event." Likewise, Council Member Cam Gordon told the City Pages newspaper that he felt "like an idiot" for being unable to respond to constituent questions with specific information. In the aftermath of the event, Council Member Yang called for public hearings.
[. . .]
PRM will be posting additional training documents as it receives them from the St. Paul Police Department and federal officials.

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/blog/public-record-media/minneapolis-police-records-shed-light-2014-military-training

Minneapolis police records shed light on 2014 military training
By Matt Ehling

April 08, 2015