Moorestown Police Department No Longer Pursuing Acquisition of MRAP

The Moorestown Police Department has abandoned its efforts to obtain a 15-ton armored personnel carrier, an official announced Thursday afternoon.

“We have reviewed the MRAP as an option and now we will see what other options are out there,” Moorestown Police Director Harry Johnson said.

The police department said it is not pursuing an application for an MRAP, or Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle, and will not in the future. Patch has been reporting on the controversy caused by the department’s pursuit of the vehicle, which many Moorestown residents said was incompatible with life in a quiet suburban town.

It was evaluating the vehicle because it was available on loan through the Department of Defense’s 1033 program that supplies excess military vehicles to local police departments.

“Interest in the vehicle existed because of their availability through a federal program which provides military equipment to local police departments at little or no cost,” police said. “Because Moorestown is the home of multiple large scale security risks, the department’s intent was and is to take every precautionary step available to provide safety to the public and their own officers in case a tragic event such as an active shooter occurs that requires rescue and/or recovery efforts.”

Police said they were pursuing the vehicle for active shooter situations, as well as for use in potential natural disasters. The MRAP is able to move in up to 3 and a half feet of water.

They also said the presence of the Moorestown Mall and Lockheed Martin made the Township a potential target, and pointed to an incident on Feb. 23 at Shields Business Solutions in which an employee shot a co-worker four times before turning the gun on himself.

Critics said the MRAP wouldn’t have been helpful in that situation, but the police department and the administration said it would’ve been useful if things had gone differently.

The particular MRAP they were considering was a Navistar MaxxPro Dash, a lighter, more mobile MRAP vehicle that can run on diesel fuel, with modifications. Police also would’ve painted the vehicle to look more like a police vehicle and less like a military vehicle one would see on battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Although a lighter model, it is still a large vehicle, weighing in at 18 tons. The department was considering removing the turret, which would’ve taken 3,000 pounds and 10 feet off the vehicle.

Visibility and the potential to roll over caused safety concerns for some residents.

Moorestown Police Lt. Lee Lieber said the department considered many things in its research before reaching its final conclusion.

Ultimately, the police department came to the conclusion that the MRAP would not be a “good fit for the township.”

“It was a combination of things,” Lieber said. “We just came to the conclusion that it wasn’t a good fit at this time.”

“I would like to commend the Moorestown Police Department for maintaining an open mind while evaluating this vehicle,” Deputy Mayor Phil Garwood said. “Taking all the variables into consideration, they made the best decision for the residents of Moorestown.”

Many towns along the Jersey Shore have acquired MRAPs, but it is not unprecedented for a New Jersey law enforcement agency to reconsider its pursuit of the vehicle.

The Bergen County Sheriff’s Department decided not to pursue a pair of MRAPs it had considered applying for last year, saying pursuing the vehicle was “no longer worth the effort,” according to northjersey.com. This decision came after an outcry among residents.

The perception of police militarization has been a concern nationwide since the country was exposed to images of Ferguson Police that looked more like a military unit dealing with mostly peaceful protesters in the aftermath of a grand jury’s decision not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown.

But while local outcry has been satisfied in some instances, critics of the 1033 program nationally feel their concerns have fallen on deaf ears.

Last month, President Barack Obama formed a group made up of top Cabinet officials to examine the 1033 program and recommend reforms to make sure officers who receive the equipment are properly trained in its use, according to the hill.com.

The executive order was passed following a review of the federal government’s support for local law enforcement equipment acquisition, but was criticized for not adequately tackling the issue.

Additionally, efforts by Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Florida) to stop the program was defeated by a 355-62 vote last August, according to the Huffington Post.

In September, Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho) introduced legislation to scale the program back by barring the transfer of certain equipment, including military vehicles. The legislation was never considered, according to thehill.com.

This is despite a Senate investigation led by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) last summer that revealed that the excess equipment provided aren’t excess after all. The investigation revealed that 36 percent of equipment provided to police departments through the program have either never been used, or were used very little.

READ MORE OF PATCH’S COVERAGE OF THE MOORESTOWN MRAP CONTROVERSY:

• Difficulty Returning Vehicle Among Issues as Moorestown Police Consider MRAP Application
• Moorestown Police Want the Public to be Comfortable With Armored Personnel Carrier
• Moorestown Police Department May Get Large Battlefield Vehicle To Combat Gunmen, Natural Disasters
• Poll: Moorestown Reacts to Possible Military Vehicle for MTPD
• Moorestown Police Cite Possible Uses for MRAP

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