Mail Online – by Martin GouldPolice on Tuesday brought in an armored siege vehicle as the hunt for alleged cop killer Eric Frein moved into its 11th day.
‘The Rook,’ described by its manufacturers as ‘six tons of pure responsive force’ will allow officers to shield themselves as they hunt for Frein in dense woodland in northeast Pennsylvania.
The tracked vehicle was brought to a police staging post just south of the village of Canadensis where police are focusing their search.
Awesome: The Rook, above, was seen being delivered today to authorities on the 11th day of the hunt for Frein
Shield: This promotional image shows how men can be deployed at height using the extendable armored arm
Lethal: Frein, 31, has been described as a survivalist with an intense hatred of law enforcement
The Rook is the latest piece of equipment to be brought in to try to find the missing man. Made by Ring Power, a company based in St. Augustine, Florida, the 13,000-pound tracked vehicle can punch holes in walls, remove cars and shield cops, and costs $245,000 and $445,000, depending on extras.
On its website Ring Power describes the Rook as equipment for when law enforcement is facing ‘the worst-case scenario,’ such as a hostage rescue, barricaded suspects, riot scene or natural disaster.
The machine’s main feature is its ‘Armored Deployment Platform’ made from metal with ‘bat wing doors’, bullet-proof glass sight ports and sliding gun ports. It can be raised 11-feet to deploy snipers on roofs.
It also can be fitted with a ‘hydraulic breaching ram’ that can punch through walls from 10 feet away and a grapple claw bulldozer-type bucket to tear into fortified structures.
Cops are saying little about their latest tactics to find Frein, who has evaded capture since Trooper Bryon Dickson, 38, was shot dead on September 12. Another state trooper, Alex Douglass, 31, was shot and seriously injured.
Tense: Police keep watch at the edge of a perimeter set up in a residential neighborhood in Canadensis
‘We continue to move assets around during this search as new information becomes available,’ police spokeswoman, Connie Devens told MailOnline. She said some roadblocks in the area have now been lifted.
Frein, described as a survivalist with an intense hatred of law enforcement, is the only suspect in the case.
Dickson, an ex-Marine with two young children, was killed as troopers changed shift at the Blooming Grove barracks, 25 miles north of Canadensis. Douglass was able to crawl inside the barracks after being hit. He has undergone several surgeries and is expected to survive.
A green Jeep, registered to Frein’s father Michael, a retired US Army major, was found half-submerged in a pond. Inside were shell casings matching the bullets that killed Dickson, Eric Frein’s social security card, camouflage face paint, a black hooded sweatshirt and information about foreign embassies.
Police believe Frein failed to negotiate a junction and plowed into the pond. They say he then made his way on foot to Canadensis, a picturesque village nestled in the Poconos. The search is now concentrated on an area near where he lived with his parents.
Michael Frein, 64, told police his son is an expert sharpshooter who ‘doesn’t miss.’
At least four helicopters with thermal imaging gear have been spotted flying above the heavily wooded area where Frein, 31, is believed to be hiding out. However the heavy canopy of leaves is said to be hampering their ability to find the fugitive.
On Monday police brass issued authorization over police radios to officers permitting them to shoot to kill Frein if he was spotted and refused to surrender.
Protection: An armored truck at the perimeter of the search area. Much of the area has been on lockdown with some residents being unable to return to their homes during the manhunt
Hunt: Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said during a visit to the area Monday that authorities were close to capturing Frein, but by Tuesday the search appeared no closer to finding him
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said during a visit to the area Monday that authorities were close to capturing Frein, but by Tuesday the search appeared no closer to finding him.
Police have said they are closing in on Frein. On Monday they shared pictures of what is believed to be his AK-47, one of two weapons his father reported missing from his house, stuck barrel-down in the woods.
For years Frein has taken part in MilSim – military simulation – activities, realistically re-enacting battles with using real weapons. He has a special interest in eastern Europe – particularly Serbia – and the Cold War.
On his MySpace page, a photo appears to show him standing in front of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Belgrade. Frein played the part of a Serbian soldier in his re-enactments and the FBI said he had claimed to have studied Russian and Serbian and to have ‘fought with Serbians in Africa.’
In recent years his views are said to have become more entrenched against the federal government and particularly law enforcement.
‘Based on our investigation, we know Frein has prepared and planned extensively for months or maybe years,’ Pennsylvania State police Lt Col George Bivens said on Sunday. ‘He planned his attack and his retreat – however, we believe we are closing in on him.’
A copy of the book, ‘Sniper Training and Employment,’ was found in his bedroom, during a search.
Following the shootings, the FBI placed him on its 10 Most Wanted List. Its wanted poster describes him as 6’1″, 165lb. State police said he changed his look, cutting his hair into a wide Mohawk as he prepared for his attack. He was also described as a heavy smoker.
Gov. Corbett said police do not believe that Frein will target civilians as he had one opportunity to kill a woman and did not take it. But he said they think Frein wants to kill more police.
Cold War: Frein with AK47, left, dressed as a Serbian soldier and right, the AK47 found by police in the woods
Order lifted: A Shelter In Place order for residents has been lifted but police warn residents to avoid the woods
Victims: Cpl. Bryon Dickson, left, was killed last week and Trooper Alex Douglass, right, was wounded
Locals in the area have become accustomed to convoys of 20 or even 30 police vehicles travelling along their narrow roads, and roadblocks being set up at a moment’s notice as the hunt continues.
The FBI, state police, officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and local cops have been joined by officers from neighboring New York and New Jersey. Police dogs have been sent into the woods but have not tracked Frein down.
Tempers are wearing thin in the tiny village of Canadensis (pop. 2,164). Mom Melissa DePauli, 37, was forced to miss her son Harrison’s third birthday last week. ‘The babysitter couldn’t get him back to me,’ she told MailOnline.
‘It was heartbreaking. I was at his birth, I should have been at his birthday,’ she said.
Others are finding their incomes hard hit. Plumber John Gartner, 39, who lives off Snow Hill Road, where the search has been concentrated, said he had been told that if he left the house he shares with his wife and four sons he wouldn’t be allowed back.
‘It’s become normal to see helicopters and light planes flying overhead,’ he added. ‘But it’s not been easy. We are getting low on food. We keep thinking it will end any day now, but it keeps going.’
Residents have been urged to avoid the woods in the area until Frein is captured.
Gaile Horowitz, who runs the Brookview Manor Inn in Canadensis with her husband Marty, said she has had guests come to dinner only to find they can’t get home, so have had to spend the night.
Other booked guests have been unable to reach the inn, she added.
One man found himself trapped when he police prevented him from going home, only to turn around to find the road behind him had been closed too.
Police spokeswoman Devens said roadblocks are moved as new information becomes available. ‘If there are no roadblocks, the areas are open to all traffic,’ she said.
The Red Cross opened an emergency shelter in nearby East Stroudsburg on Monday night. However no-one showed up, the Poconos Record reported. Many who have not been able to go home have slept in their cars or at local fire stations.
Few locals believe that Frein is still in the area. ‘I think he’s either dead or in South America,’ said Horowitz, a view shared by many others. ‘Why would you make your way back to your parents’ home after shooting a cop?’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2767126/Six-ton-armored-siege-vehicle-called-The-Rook-bullet-proof-platform-brought-net-closes-survivalist-wanted-cop-s-murder.html#ixzz3ED0FcgOr
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Oh brother! 🙄 Seriously? This is getting old. Look at all of these photos trying to make you fear the police state and think twice about shooting a cop.
What the Hell does the police department need with a ROOK? Come on! Don’t people see how ridiculous this is? That doesn’t even belong on the streets or even in the police department. It’s totally obscene. Now the pigs just wanna show off their new toy to the world.
Unfrigginbelievable………
Dickson looks like a wise ass and Douglass looks like a retarded robot.
“Pretender: New footage emerged today of Frein in a documentary about Vietnam War re-enactment”
Oh brother. I wonder how long it took them to create the footage.
“‘It’s become normal to see helicopters and light planes flying overhead,’ he added. ‘But it’s not been easy. We are getting low on food. We keep thinking it will end any day now, but it keeps going.’”
Welcome to Amerika, buddy!
This whole thing has become one, big, live drill. Never let a good crisis go to waste.
Paul, how is this story transferred from dailymail into this site? Where do all those +13’s come from? They aren’t on the dailymail article.
What difference does it make? It seems we see +13 in place of nauseating ads which blanket the original article.
My son puts up articles after we have gone to bed. The 13 means there are 13 photos in this article. They appear when you copy and paste, he just didn’t take them out.
And as Mark Schumacher pointed out, what difference does it make? And what are you trying to insinuate, Mr. 20 comments?
A simple question asked and answered. Thanks.
IS every picture of him from 1978?
Every pic of him looks old and dated.
look at what they do for one or two people or even cops killing cops in Christopher Dorners case when they are threatened.What do you think they would look like if it were 100 thousand instead of one or two? Its a massive show of force and lets everyone see how scared they really are not how brave they really are. Is this their definition of a hero? How about the citizens killed in shitcago,DC,NYC,and other cesspools,where are the tanks and cops there or does the life of a citizen mean less.we all know the answer to that one! This massive show of force is to intimidate the sheep into compliance.
Brilliant, I want to see them manoeuvre that through the woods and gullys.
About as useful as udders on a bull.
Honestly, looking at these pictures and reading the story I’d say the reaction by the police is over the top. Had Frein killed a civilian there wouldn’t be this level of urgency to catch him. Let the residents back in their homes and quit denying them free travel on their local roads. It’s ridiculous now.
The massive show of force seems to make the police appear to be cowards. How is hiding behind steel plates going to help them. Those heavy machines are no use in the woods. A gasoline cocktail would take out most of their toys. They are like scared little boys, in over their heads when the rubber meets the road. Time for a thousand more “incidents”.
The entertainment value is priceless!
So how come Congress hasn’t reviewed this police department’s purchase of the Rook and its military gear? Especially how they are all dressed up in military fatigues and helmets. Military soldiers in every sense of the word.
just look at the level of fear
the cops fear, it would seem to me this guy (if hes legit) has them right whee he wants them..shaking in their boots
how much you wanna make a bet , he aint any where in that area, or is already dead
Haha!! I know. I can’t even believe the movie has lasted this long.
“Save some of that for the sequel!” 🙄