Wow!
30 ton. I could stop it with a little clever planning and a few hundred gallons of water. What do you think the local service station would charge to tow that beast out?
Yeesh. I find that "discount" almost as disturbing as the perceived "need" of the PD of a medium-sized town to have one of these things in the first place. Don't we have some overseas ally we could sell it to for at least a couple hundred grand?
Got some morning show tapes from a friend in south Florida. One of them includes a fella talking about a vicious animal attack in his home. “I got a coon in my living room!”—the Fort Pierce police response was “Is he armed?”
Granted, those tapes were from the 90’s, but giving those yahoos that kind of vehicle leaves me speechless. Thank goodness I’m a few hours north.
On the upside, the article says these departments are getting the vehicles for $2,000, so I bet a whole lot of them would never get the vehicles if they had to actually pay for them. How long do you think these things will last in all these podunk police departments, without a budget for parts and maintenance of $700,000 military vehicles?
Altogether, there are over 2 million LEOs in the United States today. The author argues that they have effectively become a domestic standing army. The book contains an excellent history of domestic policing and is scrupulously documented.
If I saw that thing parked on the street here in my town, I would have zero hesitation to walk over to it whip out my Johnson, and piss on the front tire... SWAT team or not, that vehicle is ridiculous.
As with every other one of these acquisitions, I don’t think this is nearly as alarming as most do, for the following reasons:
One, these vehicles are incredibly expensive to maintain. They’re heavy, and impose a tremendous strain on their entire drivetrain and suspension. The tires alone cost several thousand dollars, and don’t last all that long. Additionally, much of the drivetrain is purpose-built, not COTS, so when something breaks, they’re going to have to get spares from a specific supplier, likely at cost, which is going to take a big bite out of the budget. This alone is likely to redline that thing.
Two, driving an MRAP requires specialized training on a simulator. They roll over *very easily* and are extremely top-heavy. An uneven road that causes oscillation, a corner taken too fast, or a large bump taken the wrong way, is enough to put it on its side. This isn’t a tank; it’s an armored bus intended to bring troops to the fight but not to participate.
Three, they’re HEAVY. As tough as it looks, it SUCKS as an offroad vehicle, and can get stuck easily (particularly in marshy Florida), either by becoming bogged down, or by putting too much strain on the axles/transmission and breaking something. Worse, once it’s stuck, you’re not going to get it out with any ordinary tow truck.
All these combined makes for a very short career as a law enforcement vehicle.
I hope they realize that, logistically speaking, there are some bridges and roads that are not designed to withstand a 30 ton vehicle, especially in residential areas. Trash pick up trucks struggle with this sometimes.
The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits use of military assets for domestic law enforcement activities. Not that anyone cares about that sort of thing any more. Especially not a lot of officers who swear oaths to uphold the Constitution against enemies foreign and domestic.
This is Breaking News?
How many people live in Fort Pierce?
That kind of reminds of statements like "this ship is unsinkable!"
“If you see my SWAT team roll up in this, it’s over, so just give up,”
Famous last words.
From the original Die Hard: “Send in the Car. Send in the CAHRRR!”
Remind me not to retire to Fort Pierce. I want to live through my retirement, not have the Police Farce end it.
Where the heck are these rear ends going to deploy this vehicle in Fort Pierce
Fort Pierce is not every going to turn down a chance for Federal largess. Look at the travesty of those barriers in the lagoon down by the marina.
The police department will find an excuse to use the vehicle. Not sure if people still refer to certain parts of Fort Pierce as “Little Vietnam” but even back when they did you never heard of swat team rolling in to keep order.
Fort Pierce is a craphole, majority black with a large Haitian and Latin American community.
Drugs are rampant and killings are nothing unusual.
Do they need a vehicle like this? Hell no.