CALIFORNIA – A war of words has broken out over police force in California getting a new armored vehicle built more for a state of war than patrolling in the Golden State.
The Salinas Police Department recently issued a news release proudly announcing the arrival of the armored truck built to survive minefield explosions, which it got compliments of federal taxpayers as part of a program to convert military equipment to law-enforcement use.
Critics took to the police department’s Facebook page to ask exactly why a city of 150,000 on the northern California coast really needs a vehicle designed for battlefield use. It’s more likely to be used against its own citizens, they said.
“That vehicle is made for war. Do not use my safety to justify that vehicle,” one wrote. “The Salinas Police Department is just a bunch of cowards that want to use that vehicle as intimidation and to terrorize the citizens of this city.” (read more)
http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2012/01/05/dhs-checkpoint-raid-at-ss-office-fully-armed-with-semi-automatic-rifles-demanding-random-id-check-training-excercise/
http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2013/02/09/did-you-know-dhs-can-seize-and-search-your-electronic-devices-without-any-suspicion-for-any-reason-within-100-miles-of-a-border/
http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2013/03/04/the-buildup-continues-dept-of-homeland-security-purchases-2700-mraps-mine-resistant-armor-protected-vehicles-for-domestic-use/
Some may ignore – But we ask the same questions again, and again. Why do they need these? – This is beyond Creepy – Who is the DHS going to war against?
The Federal Government ordered almost 2 billion rounds of ammunition. They ordered targets looking like average armed citizens. They are conducting military style exercises in urban areas. North Carolina police say they are practicing for martial law.
Now this……
Via Modern Survival Blog – The Department of Homeland Security (through the U.S. Army Forces Command) recently retrofitted 2,717 of these ‘Mine Resistant Protected’ vehicles for service on the streets of the United States.
Although I’ve seen and read several online blurbs about this vehicle of late, I decided to dig slightly deeper and discover more about the vehicle itself.
The new DHS sanctioned ‘Street Sweeper’ (my own slang due to the gun ports) is built by Navistar Defense (NavistarDefense.com), a division within the Navistar organization. Under the Navistar umbrella are several other companies including International Trucks, IC Bus (they make school buses), Monaco RV (recreational vehicles), WorkHorse (they make chassis), MaxxForce (diesel engines), and Navistar Financial (the money arm of the company). (continue reading)