Several police departments across Idaho have joined the growing number of states receiving armored military vehicles from the federal government.
Canyon County, Ada County, Post Falls and Preston are among the departments now equipped with bulletproof, Mine Resistance Ambush Protected Personnel Carrier (MRAP) vehicles, normally seen on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq.
“Potentially there are a lot of uses for this vehicle from deflecting an explosive device to containing or approaching an armed subject without use of greater force. We’re working with Boise Fire and other emergency response agencies throughout the Boise area to see what value this vehicle can bring to public safety. We very much appreciate the federal government for providing this vehicle to our city,” Boise Deputy Chief William Bones said
Boise’s Department of Defense provided MRAP comes equipped with several components including a “weapons of mass destruction” detection system, something Bones felt was necessary.
“This vehicle will be strategic and potentially life-saving for officer response to any incident involving a possible weapon of mass destruction, explosive device, heavily armed subject, even a hazardous material situation.”
Preston Police Chief Ken Geddes informed local residents of his department’s acquisition last week, saying the vehicles are essenital to increasing “domestic security” around the country.
“Our department has officers that have been trained and have personally used these armored vehicles in real world operations overseas. They feel this vehicle will be an asset in our area just as it was in combat situations,” Geddes said. “I appreciate our government and our military for the security they give us and for their help to increase our strength here in our schools and at home.”
Other states including Texas and Tennessee recently received military vehicles as well, courtesy of the Department of Defense surplus program that has flooded the country with military hardware. Incredibly, even the Ohio State University campus police obtained an MRAP last month, becoming the first agency in the state to own such a vehicle.
While departments across the country attempt to quell the public’s distrust of militarized police forces, citizens’ fears were yet again justified when internal New Hampshire police documents revealed that the Concord police requested a military vehicle for libertarians and occupiers. Despite having no history of violence, Concord’s Police Chief claimed that the peaceful activist groups were likely to carry out acts of domestic terrorism. The documents caused an immediate backlash, leading a former Marine Corps Colonel to confront officials at a city council meeting, asking why police now wear what the military wore while stationed in Fallujah.
Unfortunately, the Concord Police Chief’s irrational comments aren’t surprising given the federal government’s terrorist classification guidelines. Simply loving liberty, being a veteran, owning gold and even protesting is considered suspicious terrorist activity. While police militarize and train to take on Ron Paul supporters, the federal government now openly trains, arms and funds Al Qaeda insurgents in Syria.
WTF?!
Nothing a Bullpine warrior can’t take care of with a 518 Cat Skidder.
The engine compartment is not up-armored from what I have heard. (.308) Runflats will be a problem though. Remember this Patriots, all combat vehicles go into the fight with four tow hooks mounted. They do that for emergency evac of the vehicle. If anyone was to hook a 10,000 lb strap to a parked car and the tow hook while it is crawling down the road, they would have to get out to unhook it. Then the armor would be useless. Of course I am only saying this if one was to be stolen by a bad guy or something and we needed to assist the local police force with recovery of the vehicle 😉
No Reply….just lots of “Smiles”.
Just remember that it’s bullet proof on the outside.However when the door is open for one to get out and unhook the strap, a few rounds inside turn it into a blender.
I can’t wait to see how one floats in the Boise River or in one of the canals. BTW, these things don’t run on just any old spud juice. The last bunch of Surplus Hummers the City sold them off because they couldn’t get parts. Also note the City Agencies that are involved;
“We’re working with Boise Fire and other emergency response agencies throughout the Boise area”
Boise Fire is in on their little “Mil-Spec” game…..the entire city management has been taken over by piss-in-their panties yuppies that escaped from Cali.
Idaho? Seriously? That place has more cows than people. What are they going to use it for? Running over bulls and hitting rocks? What a bunch of assholes. What a complete waste of taxpayers money (which we all know is what the bastards like to do these days). That’s like giving a tank to a plumber. What the hell is he going to use it for other than knocking over some pipes?
Once again, we have another police force who enjoys being dependent on the federal government for their funding rather than the city.
DHS: “Hey, we’ll give you all the funding you need. Just take this tank and we’ll talk about the rest later. By the way, make sure you arrest more people or that funding will be taken away.”
Sounds like a corporate mafia to me. They give you a gift and then blackmail you later when you hand yourself over to them.
Gee, you’d think being a cop, they’d know when they were being blackmailed. But of course, these cops (aka children) can’t think passed the 3rd grade and don’t care as long as they get to play with the latest new toy on the market.
This looks like prepositioning of military equipment for the military or martial law.
Yea that’s one of my strategies in taking out those things when the time comes, too. I agree.
You should have seen the comments on this on the KTVB facebook page….
They successfully pissed off most of Idaho to an extreme with their bragging about this POS.