Washington (CNN)The Obama administration on Monday moved to prohibit federal agencies from providing local cops with certain kinds of military equipment such as grenade launchers, high-caliber weapons and bayonets, in the wake of controversy over a "militarized" police response to unrest last summer in Ferguson, Missouri.
The new prohibitions are part of an executive order President Barack Obama issued for federal agencies to review the types of equipment they provide to local and state police.
Ferguson activists march through downtown St. Louis during a protest on Saturday, March 14. The Ferguson Police Department has been under fire since one of its officers, Darren Wilson, shot and killed African-American teen Michael Brown in August, and more recently since a scathing U.S. Department of Justice report documented a pattern of racial discrimination.
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A protester with a taped mouth marches through downtown St. Louis on March 14.
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St. Louis police arrest a demonstrator in St. Louis on March 14.
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Ferguson, Missouri, Mayor James Knowles joins business owners to speak to the press outside a restaurant on March 14 in Ferguson, Missouri. The business owners called the press conference to explain how the constant protests in the town have been detrimental to business.
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Suzanne Del Rosario pauses as she visits the memorial at the location of the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, on March 15.
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Demonstrators visit a memorial to Michael Brown on Friday, March 13, in Ferguson, Missouri.
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Demonstrators voice support for the Ferguson mayor and police outside the police station, on March 13.
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Ferguson Mayor James Knowles (second from right) talks with a reporter across the street from the police station on March 13.
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Crime scene tape used to secure the area after two officers were shot outside the Ferguson police station, sits in a trash can on March 13.
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A pedestrian walks past a boarded-up furniture store March 13 in Ferguson. Some businesses in the city haven't reopened since last fall's riots, though a number continue to operate despite being boarded up.
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People take part in a candlelight vigil Thursday, March 12, in Ferguson, Missouri.
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St. Louis County police Lt. Jerry Lohr walks through a crowd of protesters in Ferguson on March 12, trying to get them to move out of the street. The St. Louis County police said it had assumed "command of the security detail regarding protests," together with the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
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Demonstrators shout slogans during ongoing protests in Ferguson on March 12. Organizers say protests have continued for more than 200 days since Brown's killing.
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Police respond after the two officers were shot outside the Ferguson Police Department early March 12.
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Police take cover after the two officers were shot on March 12.
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Officers gather outside the police station on March 12.
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Police mobilize in the parking lot after shots were fired on March 12.
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Police shine a light on a helmet as they investigate the scene outside the Ferguson Police Department on March 12.
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Protesters demonstrate outside the police station on Wednesday, March 11. Some gathered to cheer the resignation of police Chief Thomas Jackson. Others amassed to demand more: the disbanding of the entire police department and the resignation of Mayor James Knowles.
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Police in riot gear respond to demonstrators blocking traffic in Ferguson on March 11.
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Police officers stand on alert during the protests on March 11.
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A demonstrator is detained and arrested during the March 11 protest.
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Protesters face off with Ferguson police officers on March 11.
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Protesters demonstrate outside the police station on March 11.
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Obama traveled Monday to Camden, N.J., to highlight crime reduction and community policing tactics that the administration hopes can be a model around the country. A spate of officer-involved shootings and the deaths of African-Americans in confrontations with police has made policing an issue the administration is forced to grapple with.
"We've seen how militarized gear can sometimes give people a feeling like there's an occupying force as opposed to a force that's part of the community that's protecting them and serving them," Obama said in Camden Monday. "It can alienate and intimidate local residents and send the wrong message."
Agencies including the Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security departments help provide equipment to local police.
The banned list includes: tank-like armored vehicles that move on tracks, certain types of camouflage uniforms, bayonets, firearms and ammunition of .50 caliber or higher, grenade launchers, and weaponized aircraft.
The presidential order established a "controlled equipment" list, with tightened requirements before federal agencies can transfer equipment to local cops. These include riot control equipments and drones. Federal agencies will also require local police to provide more data so the government can better track equipment.
Local police can still bypass the federal restrictions and bans by buying the equipment from private sellers.
Obama announced to new order at the Camden Police Department, where he also toured a tactical operation center, as well as met with officers and young people from the community.
White House officials said the President chose to visit Camden, besieged by violent crime, to highlight the city's work toward repairing relations between the police department and residents.
"This city is onto something," Obama said, citing officers who walk regular city beats and volunteer in schools.
In December Obama signed an Executive Order to create the Task Force on 21st Century Policing to determine ways to strengthen public trust and better relationships between local law enforcement and communities.
The Task Force released its final report Monday with a "blue print" for law enforcement and communities to utilize including recommendations of how to promote trust within the community, such as police embracing "a guardian- rather than a warrior" mindset to build legitimacy. Other recommendations include creating a diverse police workforce, implementing policies that reflect community values and better training for officers.
Earlier this month Obama announced a spin-off of his already-existing "My Brother's Keeper" initiative into a new, non-profit foundation to address the lack of opportunity that young minority boys face.
At the announcement of the initiative, President Obama said that blacks were getting pulled over by cops for "no reason", which has since angered some members of the law enforcement community.
During his remarks Monday, Obama said issues facing inner-city communities "go beyond policing," citing the opportunity gap he says his policies are working toward closing.
"We can't ask the police to contain and control problems that the rest of us aren't willing to face, or do anything about," he said. "If we, as a society, don't do more to expand opportunities to everybody that's willing to work for it, we'll end up seeing conflicts between law enforcement and residents."
