re: "Militarization of the Police" discussion

quote:

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Because there is zero need to have vehicles designed for military combat. Less than one percent of all crimes involving a weapon deal automatic assault rifles.

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Tyler, TX — Howard Tod Granger was surrounded.

Lenco BearCat G3 at his front gate, sheriff at the back, helicopter in the sky, and a sniper in the yard.

The body was buried in his shed: Benjamin Gill Clements, former governor’s son, millionaire from Dallas.

Clements, 69, purchased tracts of land like other men bought cattle. Granger’s five acres in Henderson County had been surrounded by the retired CEO’s metal fences, private lakes and planted pines for years before the police encircled Granger on Oct. 22.

That afternoon, the law called out for Granger. He stepped out of his little blue house and answered with an AK-47.

Police say Granger unloaded 30-plus rounds into the Lenco BearCat G3 before a sniper shot him dead. And sometime between the first bullet and the last, they heard him scream what likely were his last words.


Sgt. Mike Levesque

At 2300 hours on March 2, 2004, the SWAT unit was activated in reference to a barricaded gunman call. Our typical procedure in a call like this is the following:

1) Establish perimeter and relieve uniform personnel.

2) Deploy Snipers.

3) Organize an emergency assault/arrest team.

4) Establish communication via use of negotiators.

In this particular case the suspect would not respond to telephone calls made by our crisis negotiators. In an effort to exhaust all avenues of resolution we deployed a portable PA system and tried to get as close as possible without being in his line of fire, so that the suspect would hear us. Due to the distance, in most cases, there was no assurance that the suspect was hearing what we were saying.

Here is where the BearCat shines brightly. The commander of the team (Capt. Paul Gravel) advised me to prepare the BearCat for deployment. I was advised to drive right up to the house so the negotiators could attempt to negotiate from inside the vehicle using the BearCat’s PA System and also using the (2) 400,000 candlepower spotlights to illuminate the location with a wall of light.

I did this without reservation or hesitation for I was quite comfortable with the 15,800 pounds of half- inch thick armor plate and 66mm ballistic glass I was surrounded by. It was as if I was in a high tech bunker. One of the negotiators (former military) , was cool with this tactic but the other one had serious reservations about the risk we were taking, mainly due to a lack of knowledge on his part of the BearCat’s capabilities. We both assured him of how sound a tactic this was and that there wasn’t anything in this City, which could penetrate the vehicle.

The BearCat also served as a huge security blanket for the gas team to deploy gas safely. After the (5) 37mm gas rounds were deployed the suspect exited the home without incident. There were no injuries and all involved using the BearCat felt extremely secure in their role in causing the suspect to surrender.