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from the articles-that-are-plotlines-to-movies dept.
Jeremy Bender reports that eight different law enforcement agencies in Indiana have purchased massive Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAPs) that were formerly used in Iraq and Afghanistan. The MRAP is a bulletproof, 60,000-pound, six-wheeled behemoth with heavy armor, a gunner's turret and the word "SHERIFF" emblazoned on its flank.
Pulaski County, home to 13,124 people, is one of the counties that have purchased an MRAP from military surplus. When asked to justify the purchase of a former military vehicle, Pulaski County Sheriff Michael Gayer told the Indy Star:
"The United States of America has become a war zone. There's violence in the workplace, there's violence in schools and there's violence in the streets. You are seeing police departments going to a semi-military format because of the threats we have to counteract. If driving a military vehicle is going to protect officers, then that's what I'm going to do."
(Score: 2) by davester666 on Thursday June 12 2014, @05:55AM
Note, they need the vehicle to protect themselves, not anybody else.
(Score: 1) by Joe Desertrat on Friday June 13 2014, @02:26AM
Cops have their own brand of nerdiness, just like anyone else. A chance to buy a big, fancy new toy, who would pass that up? I can see them pulling up to the local Dunkin Donuts, on break from their training of course, and piling out of the vehicle as pleased as a programmer whose code compiled without a bug.