San Angelo Police to Obtain an Armored Vehicle for its SWAT Team

This past July, during the San Angelo City Council budget workshop, Councilman Johnny Silvas, Single-Member District 3, brought up the topic of an armored personnel carrier (APC) for the San Angelo Police Department. For 10 years, Chief Tim Vasquez has made the request for such a vehicle, and for 10 years, city council members declined his request. Silvas felt this council should reconsider that request, even with its $245,000 price tag.

“It’s a passion of mine that I’m going to push,” Silvas told council members at the time. “I see these things in the news, and I hope it doesn’t take something drastic for us to get serious about this.”

Well, as of Tuesday, City Council did get serious about this topic, and not only did they submit a 6 to 0 vote for an MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle), but they also agreed to discuss investing in a BearCat, a mid-sized multipurpose APC, which is what Vasquez originally requested and hoped for. The BearCat comes at a price tag of approximately $245,000; a surplus MRAP from the U.S. Army is almost free, though.

“We really want a vehicle,” Vasquez told council members. “We’ve been needing one. I would love City Council to give us $245,000 for a BearCat, but we’re willing to take what we can get."

During a discussion about this topic in early August, Vasquez and SWAT Commander Lieutenant Tracy Fincher explained how SAPD has always had “hand-me-downs.” For many years, SAPD has had to borrow APCs from Abilene and Midland Police Departments during intense situations.

For more information on that discussion, click here.

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Above: U.S. Soldiers assigned to Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, head out for a mission aboard Caiman mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles and an M1117 Guardian armored security vehicle, background, at Camp Adder, Iraq, Oct. 31, 2009. (Wikipedia)

In this instance, the MRAP, may also be considered a “hand-me-down” by the U.S. Military. However, it’s a hand-me-down vehicle officers will use as a tool to save officers’ and citizens’ lives. Also, there’s no official cost for the vehicle except the upkeep since it’s part of the Texas 1033 Military Surplus Property Program, which is authorized to transfer excess Department of Defense property to Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies with special emphasis given to counter drug and counter terrorism.

In layman terms, Vasquez said the MRAP is a surplus vehicle. When the soldiers were pulled out of Iraq, so was most the equipment used fighting the Iraq war, including the MRAPs. The vehicles were just sitting there, so that’s when law enforcement agencies across the country were allowed to take advantage of the surplus vehicles for their departments.

During the summer months, when the topic was bought up, President Obama had pulled the 1033 program after what took place in Ferguson, Missouri because of accusations of police militarization.

“He recently repealed that action, and because of recent [situations], he realized there was a need,” Vasquez said about the President.

Overall, the MRAP has some limitations, Vasquez said. The vehicle weighs 28,000 to 32,000 pounds and it holds, at the most, eight officers. Additionally, since it belongs to the U.S. Government, it can be taken away at any time, which is why council members agreed to have a discussion about the BearCat during the next budget session.

Both the approval and the agreement to revisit this during the next budget session was good enough for Vasquez.

“Obviously, it’s a step in the right direction,” the Chief said after the council gave the final approval. “It’s a very significant tool used in law enforcement, and has been used in law enforcement for many many years. It’s going to help provide a significant layer of protection for the officers as they approach dangerous situations.”

Vasquez also reiterated that it helps the citizens.

“If we have a citizen who is injured, we can approach [him or her] safely. It’s also for recovery. It’s not just for attack,” he explained.

Vasquez said he doesn’t believe the council approved this request because of crime in San Angelo. He claimed crime in the area is significantly lower compared to what it was 11 years ago. However, the atmosphere nationwide and what law enforcement are dealing with has brought some awareness to the council.

Vasquez stated, “In recent times, we’ve had Ferguson; we’ve had the riots; we’ve had San Bernadino. Those things have hit the council where they’re now, ‘We need this.’ We needed this years ago when we first started asking for it, but we’ll get this; and I’m glad we’re going to look at the BearCat. I think the BearCat, in the end, will be a better mobile vehicle for us.”

Vasquez claimed the BearCat will be better because of its smaller size and less weight. There are times officers have to travel on the road, and it’s a lot of weight, so he’s concerned about the streets, even though the city has big trucks that travel them all the time.

“I just don’t want one of our vehicles tearing up the streets,” Vasquez noted.

As for the citizens, Vasquez knows some people will have a problem with this approval and the APC, especially after previous reactions when the topic was first brought up in July.

At that time, San Angelo LIVE! conducted a survey asking San Angelo citizens whether they thought SAPD needed an APC. Out of 205 total respondents, 57 percent said they didn’t believe the department needed the vehicle while 43 percent voted in favor.

In response to those people who are opposed to this vehicle and feel this is militarization of the police, Vasquez said, “[The APC] is not intended to be used in any form or fashion where we’re taking over the city. This is going to be used when we go out and do SWAT raids or when we’re dealing with people with guns. It’s also going to be used to save lives, and that’s what it’s intended to do. It’s not intended to take lives away. It’s meant to save lives.”

With the approval, Vasquez said paperwork had to be signed, scanned and submitted to the Texas 1033 Program by Tuesday.

“So hopefully, in the next several weeks, we’ll have it,” Vasquez stated. Officials will have to pick the vehicle up in Texarkana.

To finalize, Vasquez said he’s not crazy about the bright yellow color of the MRAP, so he’s hoping SAPD will get a little help with that.

“The only thing I hope is we’ll have a body shop paint it PD blue,” Vasquez jibed. “Flat PD blue is all we need.”