OFF THE WIRE
North County Times - The Californian |
The Escondido Police Department\\\'s SWAT vehicle was parked Wednesday at police headquarters. The 30-year-old Cadillac Gage Peacekeeper will be replaced by a Lenco BearCat probably sometime this year.
The same armored vehicle the federal government uses to protect military bases and personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan could soon be hitting the streets of Escondido and Oceanside, authorities say.
The county plans to buy two 16,000-pound BearCat vehicles ---- each capable of stopping improvised explosive devices, mortar blasts and heavy concentrations of combat arms fire ---- for about $250,000 apiece, using a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, authorities said.
At least 10 people can fit in the vehicle, which is made of military-grade steel armor plate and looks like a large SUV, according to the manufacturer.
The Escondido and Oceanside Police Departments each would get a BearCat to use and share with any regional agency that needed it.
The Escondido City Council gave police permission on April 13 to accept the county's federal grant funds and order the BearCat. The Oceanside Police Department has not yet asked the Oceanside City Council to accept the federal money.
The BearCat could arrive at the Escondido Police Department as soon as this fall, authorities said.
Are these vehicles necessary?
Police say the vehicles will keep officers safe and could save lives in dangerous situations, but some have questioned whether the vehicles are necessary for police officers who should be more like helpful neighbors than soldiers.
"In situations where a suspect is barricaded and hostage situations, we're going to have to get close enough to deploy," Oceanside Police Department Sgt. Jeff Brandt said. "This gives us the luxury to do that. We could drive pretty much wherever we want."
Escondido City Councilwoman Olga Diaz said during a council meeting April 13 that it seemed the expensive vehicles would be needed only in extreme situations, and she asked when police last needed such a powerful tool.
"Last time we needed one was probably less than a couple of weeks ago," Escondido Police Department Capt. Bob Benton said. "We did a warrant service on a gentleman who had a lot of high-powered weapons."
Police had to call for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department's BearCat and wait for it to be driven up from San Diego, he said.
Lt. Craig Carter said Tuesday that no shots were fired during the warrant service.
He said the department called for the BearCat because it had more reliable armor, and the department's existing SWAT vehicle was too small to carry the people and equipment police needed.
The SWAT vehicle ---- an approximately 30-year-old Cadillac Gage Peacekeeper the department bought secondhand from the Sheriff's Department in 2009 for $1 ---- also is used by the military, he said.
Carter said he didn't know if the department would keep the existing SWAT vehicle once the BearCat arrives.
'If we don't use it, it will go to someone else'
Diaz voted along with the rest of the council to order the BearCat, but she said last week that she was uneasy about police using the vehicle for more everyday tasks such as serving warrants.
"Military equipment is meant to be used in times of war, and never against United States citizens," she said. "I would just hate to blur that line."
Massachusetts-based Lenco Armored Vehicles makes the BearCat for use by police SWAT teams, but it is also used by the military, according to press materials the company provided to the North County Times. Military police and security teams use the BearCat for patrol and protection on military bases, and the U.S. Department of Justice uses the vehicles to protect personnel in war zones.
More than 300 law enforcement agencies around the country use BearCats, and many reportedly buy them with federal grants.
Users can click a button on the Lenco website to get help writing grants, including a "free Grant Writing Help Guide."
Escondido Mayor Sam Abed said last week that federal grants are a help when it comes to buying specialized equipment the city may not otherwise be able to afford.
"If you ask me, 'Should we use the general fund to do this (buy a BearCat),' I say no, but this is federal government money," he said. "If we don't use it, it will go to someone else. I would rather have a piece of equipment the police can use to save lives."
Carter said a police SWAT vehicle has never been fired upon in the 20 years he has been at the department, but police have encountered high-powered weapons during SWAT operations in the past.
For example, in March 2006, two officers were involved in a gun battle with a distraught 75-year-old man who was wielding an AK-47 assault rifle in a senior apartment complex in the 500 block of North Midway Drive.
He said police have confiscated such high-powered weapons after other SWAT calls, but he did not release specific numbers or incidents.
"Just because they (suspects) are not using them, doesn't mean they're not there," he said of high-powered weapons in the community.
'Does not make you safer'
But whether having a BearCat makes police better able to save lives is a claim that criminal justice experts have questioned.
"It's all an illusion," said Jim Fisher, a former professor of criminal justice at Edinboro University in Edinboro, Pa., and author of a book on SWAT teams. He was quoted in a March 11 news article.
"The fact your police department just bought an armored vehicle does not make you safer. It's going to make you poorer, because your taxes will go up to pay for training and maintenance," he said.
Police said maintenance will probably cost about $300 a month for the three years the vehicle is under warranty. They did not provide an estimate of costs after the warranty expired.
Brandt and Carter said staff and training will probably not be an extra expense because officers are already required to take courses to use the departments' existing SWAT vehicles.
Brandt said the equipment would be worth its cost if a serious situation arose.
"It's one of those pieces of equipment you hope you never need," he said. "But if you need it, you have to have it."
Call staff writer Morgan Cook at 760-739-6675.
The county plans to buy two 16,000-pound BearCat vehicles ---- each capable of stopping improvised explosive devices, mortar blasts and heavy concentrations of combat arms fire ---- for about $250,000 apiece, using a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, authorities said.
At least 10 people can fit in the vehicle, which is made of military-grade steel armor plate and looks like a large SUV, according to the manufacturer.
The Escondido and Oceanside Police Departments each would get a BearCat to use and share with any regional agency that needed it.
The Escondido City Council gave police permission on April 13 to accept the county's federal grant funds and order the BearCat. The Oceanside Police Department has not yet asked the Oceanside City Council to accept the federal money.
The BearCat could arrive at the Escondido Police Department as soon as this fall, authorities said.
Are these vehicles necessary?
Police say the vehicles will keep officers safe and could save lives in dangerous situations, but some have questioned whether the vehicles are necessary for police officers who should be more like helpful neighbors than soldiers.
"In situations where a suspect is barricaded and hostage situations, we're going to have to get close enough to deploy," Oceanside Police Department Sgt. Jeff Brandt said. "This gives us the luxury to do that. We could drive pretty much wherever we want."
Escondido City Councilwoman Olga Diaz said during a council meeting April 13 that it seemed the expensive vehicles would be needed only in extreme situations, and she asked when police last needed such a powerful tool.
"Last time we needed one was probably less than a couple of weeks ago," Escondido Police Department Capt. Bob Benton said. "We did a warrant service on a gentleman who had a lot of high-powered weapons."
Police had to call for the San Diego County Sheriff's Department's BearCat and wait for it to be driven up from San Diego, he said.
Lt. Craig Carter said Tuesday that no shots were fired during the warrant service.
He said the department called for the BearCat because it had more reliable armor, and the department's existing SWAT vehicle was too small to carry the people and equipment police needed.
The SWAT vehicle ---- an approximately 30-year-old Cadillac Gage Peacekeeper the department bought secondhand from the Sheriff's Department in 2009 for $1 ---- also is used by the military, he said.
Carter said he didn't know if the department would keep the existing SWAT vehicle once the BearCat arrives.
'If we don't use it, it will go to someone else'
Diaz voted along with the rest of the council to order the BearCat, but she said last week that she was uneasy about police using the vehicle for more everyday tasks such as serving warrants.
"Military equipment is meant to be used in times of war, and never against United States citizens," she said. "I would just hate to blur that line."
Massachusetts-based Lenco Armored Vehicles makes the BearCat for use by police SWAT teams, but it is also used by the military, according to press materials the company provided to the North County Times. Military police and security teams use the BearCat for patrol and protection on military bases, and the U.S. Department of Justice uses the vehicles to protect personnel in war zones.
More than 300 law enforcement agencies around the country use BearCats, and many reportedly buy them with federal grants.
Users can click a button on the Lenco website to get help writing grants, including a "free Grant Writing Help Guide."
Escondido Mayor Sam Abed said last week that federal grants are a help when it comes to buying specialized equipment the city may not otherwise be able to afford.
"If you ask me, 'Should we use the general fund to do this (buy a BearCat),' I say no, but this is federal government money," he said. "If we don't use it, it will go to someone else. I would rather have a piece of equipment the police can use to save lives."
Carter said a police SWAT vehicle has never been fired upon in the 20 years he has been at the department, but police have encountered high-powered weapons during SWAT operations in the past.
For example, in March 2006, two officers were involved in a gun battle with a distraught 75-year-old man who was wielding an AK-47 assault rifle in a senior apartment complex in the 500 block of North Midway Drive.
He said police have confiscated such high-powered weapons after other SWAT calls, but he did not release specific numbers or incidents.
"Just because they (suspects) are not using them, doesn't mean they're not there," he said of high-powered weapons in the community.
'Does not make you safer'
But whether having a BearCat makes police better able to save lives is a claim that criminal justice experts have questioned.
"It's all an illusion," said Jim Fisher, a former professor of criminal justice at Edinboro University in Edinboro, Pa., and author of a book on SWAT teams. He was quoted in a March 11 news article.
"The fact your police department just bought an armored vehicle does not make you safer. It's going to make you poorer, because your taxes will go up to pay for training and maintenance," he said.
Police said maintenance will probably cost about $300 a month for the three years the vehicle is under warranty. They did not provide an estimate of costs after the warranty expired.
Brandt and Carter said staff and training will probably not be an extra expense because officers are already required to take courses to use the departments' existing SWAT vehicles.
Brandt said the equipment would be worth its cost if a serious situation arose.
"It's one of those pieces of equipment you hope you never need," he said. "But if you need it, you have to have it."
Call staff writer Morgan Cook at 760-739-6675.
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