Rolling Thunder: LPD’s Imposing Rescue/SWAT Vehicle

Writer / Neal G. Moore

Police Chief Michael Walton and Captain Tim Steele.

Let’s play a game of “What if…?” What if you were hiking in Fort Harrison State Park and you suffered a heart attack? What if there were no road or path into or out of the rugged ravine where you lay in need of immediate medical attention? Would you: a) be forced to accept that no ambulance, truck or car would be able to get to you in a timely manner? or: b) take some comfort knowing that immediate medical help was on the way thanks to a tank-like vehicle capable of traversing virtually any terrain—a six-wheel-drive, 53,000-pound behemoth that, most recently, patrolled the streets and sands of Afghanistan? This not-so-unlikely scenario is one of the reasons Lawrence Police Department (LPD) jumped at the chance recently to snatch up a surplus U.S. Army all-terrain vehicle for pennies on the dollar (not many pennies, but a whole lot of dollars.) Indeed, the sticker price—still affixed to the vehicle—was $733,000 when it initially rolled off a military contractor assembly line.

The Beast (as I’ll call it here) was sitting in Texas when Chief Michael Walton accepted the Army’s offer: “If you can pay to transport the vehicle, it’s yours.” Sixty-two hundred dollars later, LPD had itself a beast of a vehicle for emergency rescue and SWAT incident use. “We’re constantly looking for government equipment that the military is no longer using,” Walton explained during a recent interview with Lawrence Community Newsletter. “Anytime we have an opportunity to upgrade our equipment, we take advantage.” For example, the department has in its weapons arsenal several military-grade M-16 rifles.

The cockpit is well-outfitted and requires two drivers.

LPD currently employs a former BRINKS truck that’s been converted into an emergency-response vehicle, but the obvious benefits of the much larger, better-armored vehicle were too good to pass up. “This vehicle will travel uphill, through snow, water, mud. If we’re doing a rescue, we can do it in a better way,” Walton said. “With the existing vehicle we might not be able to.” LPD SWAT commander Capt. Tim Steele acknowledged that the department has been looking at a civilian version of a similar vehicle with a price tag of about $250,000. “By doing this, the chief saved the city a lot of money. It benefits citizens for future protection. This vehicle could drive right up to the bad guy and not even be damaged,” Steele said.

The prospect of an active shooter is an ever-present threat that police around the country frequently train for. “Overall, there now are more dangers than there used to be,” said Chief Walton. “Thirty years ago when I started, you worried more about one-on-one confrontations. We now are training for two or three people assassinating people in a school. Those things were unheard of [previously]. Now, we’re more worried about high-powered rifles and explosive devices. The potential is always great.”

That’s where The Beast would come into play. LPD’s entire SWAT force of 15 officers, along with three medics from Lawrence Fire Department, can comfortably sit inside (20-25 if standing). A turret atop the truck opens for use by a rifle marksman, and large, swing-out rear doors allow for a swift exit. “It’s 100 percent safer than what we had.

I feel more comfortable sending my guys into a hot zone…going in and getting citizens out. With a patrol car there’s no true protection. Now, we have true protection,” explained Capt. Steele. Indeed, the former military vehicle’s bulletproof glass and steel-plated exterior can withstand a 50-caliber shell, is actually the Most effective ballistic defense against fire, explosions, and bullets.

The threat of a violent police run isn’t hyperbole. Capt. Steele recounted a recent call involving a Lawrence resident with mental health issues. “He was loaded with weapons—rifles, shotguns.” The Indianapolis Police Department Bomb Squad will also have access to the vehicle—providing technicians the opportunity to get closer, and to do so more safely, when dealing with an explosive device. LPD conducted a recent training session at an abandoned house using The Beast to practice tactical maneuvers. “It worked better than we expected,” said Chief Walton. “We learned some new ways to allow us more safe tactical approaches, entries. It will provide us with more successful response.”

The department plans to replace The Beast’s jump seats with benches, and paint the vehicle black. Ominous? Yes. Intimidating? Perhaps. The point is to take some of the stress out of the equation—whether a police action, or rescue-related event. “It’s like an umbrella,” offered Chief Walton. “I hope we don’t need it, but if we do, what I like best about it is providing our officers with the safest piece of equipment we could provide to make sure they go home at the end of the day, and that they can stay alive while rescuing someone else.”

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