Police and Soldiers, What's the Difference?

According to this article, the police have recently begun being supplied with equipment from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the small town of Roanoke Rapids, the police department has been supplied with Humvees and MRAPs, vehicles designed to withstand explosive blasts and ambushes, along with firearms very similar, if not identical, to those used by the U.S. Military. This equipment was given to the police department free of charge by the Pentagon. The "intended purpose is to prevent mass casualties and to extricate people," but many do not seem to believe this. Some people are even going so far as to call America a "war zone." A major outcry against police "militarization" followed right after the shooting of an unarmed teenager in Ferguson and the violent riots that followed. Police used tear gas to put down riots as well as a non-lethal, but very painful deterrent, rubber bullets when the protesters began throwing rocks and firing guns at the police. Some people are starting to call Ferguson "Fergustan," in reference to its similarity to a "war zone." Ferguson is not the only place receiving police with military equipment. School police around the country have been receiving equipment from the Pentagon as well. School campus police forces have received around $13 million worth of equipment, including 145 handguns, 780 rifles, and nine explosive resistant vehicles. There was major backlash with this as well, just as with the Ferguson case. Now, there have been bills proposed to curb this "militarization." The bill restricts programs to supply grants that give money to purchase drones, surveillance, ballistic helmets, and lethal weapons. I personally disagree with most people and believe that the police need more equipment, not less. The amount of deadly situations the police find themselves in, who knows, the MRAP that they were forced to return could have saved their life. And besides, really the only difference between the old police officer's equipment and the new are the vehicles and the colors.