Moorestown Police Want the Public to be Comfortable With Armored Personnel Carrier

Should it receive a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle on loan from the Department of Defense’s 1033 surplus program, the Moorestown Police Department wants the public to be as comfortable with it as possible.

“We want people to know we have it,” Lt. Lee Lieber said. “We want to put it in parades, and touch-a-trucks displays. We want it to be out there for the public to see.”

Lieber said the police department has been transparent about its desire to obtain the vehicle, designed to withstand improvised explosive devices and ambushes on battlefields such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

The vehicles are now available to local municipalities through a government surplus program that distributes military equipment to law enforcement agencies around the country. The program has drawn widespread complaints from critics who charge that it is contributing to the militarization of local police departments, many of whom have no legitimate use for military grade equipment.

The U.S. military ramped up its MRAP purchases in 2007, after scores of military personnel were maimed or killed by Improvised Explosive Devices in Afghanistan, and the vehicles were deployed there and in Iraq.

At 9-feet tall, about 20-feet long and weighing in at 14-18 tons, the vehicles were credited with reducing the number of serious casualties from the roadside bombs.

Lieber said the the Moorestown department will be open about displaying the vehicle should it get one, and wants to dispel any notion that Moorestown Police have any ulterior motives.

The police department has stated it wants the vehicle for active shooter situations, similar to the incident on Feb. 23 in which an employee shot a co-worker four times before turning the gun on himself, as well as natural disaster emergencies.

Other police departments around the country have taken a different approach to the public display of MRAPs than the one proposed by the Morristown Police Department.

The Willimantic Police Department in the Town of Windham, Connecticut, have used the vehicle 19 times since it gained possession of the vehicle in 2014, according to Capt. Stan Parizo. But residents won’t see the vehicle outside of its designated use, as part of the area’s SWAT team and in natural disasters.

“It’s not designated as a showpiece,” Pariso said. “It’s strictly a rescue vehicle.”

Lt. Tim Thornton said residents in Mason City, Iowa, were initially apprehensive when the police department said it wanted to procure an MRAP.

“Initially, there was a vocal minority that was concerned about the militarization of the police,” Thornton said. “But the public has been supportive, and we don’t flaunt it. We don’t put it in parades and it’s not out there for people to see.”

In South Carolina, Richland County Sheriff Spokesman Capt. Chris Cowan tells thenerve.org that MRAPs are used in parades, and that they’re “great icebreakers with kids and adults.”

This seems to be the approach Moorestown Police would take with the vehicle, but it would be locked away secure in a garage when not being used out in public.

Before making it visible in the community, Lieber said the department plans to make the vehicle look less menacing with a new paint job and by installing lights.

Thornton and Pariso each said the cost to modify their vehicles was minimal, with Thornton noting the cost was around $2,000.

The Warren County Sheriff’s Department was looking at $70,000 worth of upgrades, which included new seating and loudspeakers, in addition to emergency lights, according to the Washington Post.

Lieber said Moorestown wouldn’t be making the same upgrades Warren County did. He expects the number to fall in line with Mason City and Willimantic.

He also added Moorestown isn’t rushing into any decision concerning the vehicle just yet.

The police department is awaiting approval from council, which is currently in the midst of putting together its budget. If council approves, the police department would then have to file an application, which may take some time to approve.

“Some police departments have been waiting three years for approval,” Lieber said.

And although the department has heard concerns from some members of the community, there appears to be at least some support for obtaining the vehicle. A total of 761 people recently participated in a poll on Moorestown Patch, with 62.16 percent of people voicing support for the department’s acquisition.

In the meantime, Lieber has been in touch with several police departments that have obtained MRAPs, voicing the concerns that he has heard from the public, as well as the department’s own concerns. The police department is doing research, making sure this is an acquisition the department intends to keep once it’s made.

“We’re not in a big rush,” Lieber said. “We want to do it right.”

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