Posted on 09/08/2009 11:50:20 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
EDINBURG As the old adage goes, its better to have a gun and not need it, than to need a gun and not have it.
With that in mind, say hello to the B.E.A.R. the Rio Grande Valleys newest tool to fight potentially violent standoffs and manhunts.
The armor-plated vehicle stands more than 12 feet tall and can carry at least three six-member SWAT teams inside or rescue 35 schoolchildren.
A detachable battering ram at the front of the vehicle promises to smash through suspected drug cartel members reinforced lairs or other structures. Eight openings in the B.E.A.R.s bulletproof walls and windows give law enforcement the ability to return fire.
The vehicle is designed to withstand armor-piercing rounds, grenades even roadside bombs like those seen by troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A turret that rises through the B.E.A.R.s ceiling even allows officers to mount a machine gun, if needed. Its a real neat vehicle, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said.
Treviño introduced the vehicle last week. Purchased entirely with federal funds, the Lenco B.E.A.R. Ballistic Engineered Armored Response vehicle is the first of its kind for law enforcement agencies south of San Antonio.
The B.E.A.R. came with a $346,000 price tag more than most homes in the Valley, let alone many RVs driven by Winter Texans.
Treviño defended the purchase, given that no local money was spent the U.S. Department of Homeland Security gave the sheriffs office a $1.6 million Operation Stonegarden grant to cover the cost last year. Stonegarden funds go to local law enforcement to fight border violence.
The people of Hidalgo County did not have to lay down one cent for this, Treviño said.
Most larger law enforcement agencies across the country have vehicles to quell standoffs, with the B.E.A.R. providing cover when they turn violent. Beyond protecting the cops, the vehicle can also be used to rescue hostages.
Pittsfield, Mass.-based Lenco Industries Inc. has sold about 500 of the B.E.A.R. vehicles and its smaller variant, the BearCat, since its inception in 1999, company president Len Light said.
Lencos customers initially came under criticism when the vehicles started rolling out because of their cost, Light said. But in the past decade, no firearm or explosive has breached the Lenco vehicles armor.
These have been lifesavers, he said.
Armed standoffs are not part of daily life in the Valley, but they have occurred, and with the B.E.A.R., you know your men, your SWAT team and the public is going to be secure, the sheriff said.
Hopefully well never have to run up against that, Treviño said of armed standoffs. But, you never know.
The B.E.A.R. also comes equipped with an infrared camera that will allow SWAT teams to hunt down criminals who may be hiding out in rough terrain, even at night. State and federal helicopter units use the same technology during manhunts along the border.
Treviño said the B.E.A.R. will be available for any law enforcement agency in South Texas to use in hostile situations should the need arise.
Well even pay for the gas, he said.
Hildago ping
You think TheMom would move back to the Valley if she got to drive one of these?
actually its a wheeled armored car. A study of army field manuals on the building/siting of anti-vehicle obstacles & a little creative landscaping can render this particular vehicle into a large pigeon roost.
Well to get around the Posse Comitatus Act, just turn the police into quazi military organizations. Tie enough of their funding to federal grants and they become more beholden to the feds than there local governments.
So yes it does sound wonderful to fully equip the local police like this... But a government strong enough to right all wrongs is a government strong enough to enact laws contrary to the will of the governed and to break the contract between the governing and the governed by force.
You honestly think one of those things wouldn’t come in handy in El Paso/Cd. Juarez? That Sheriff, a supporter of whom I am not, is nevertheless on the front lines of the border wars. A government that is unable to protect its borders is no government at all.
The BAR as used against seriously under-armed local police departments by the likes of John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bonnie and Clyde
With those big, vertical surfaces, I have my doubts about its ability to survive against AP rounds. The sheriff may have just bought himself a very large pig in a poke.
The secret is, a lot of police would never cut it in the military. Certainly, there are a lot of veterans in law enforcement and with a few exceptions (Lon Horiuchi), they tend to be the most level-headed, resonable cops out there; however, their mere presence has a tendency to frustrate the wannabes.
Oh useful? You Betcha! No doubt it would be useful.. But that is not the test as to whether or not it’s a good idea. The money to buy the thing was extorted by the Federal Government and returned as it saw fit to the State. That’s just accepting a loan from the God Father. Someday he will ask for something in return. I want my government to be weak, helpless, underfunded and incompetent. Now if the local tax payers all got together and decided they needed to buy this it would be different. But to get Federal Gubment cheese... NO WAY! Some day, some way the feds will force that sheriff to make a choice in loyalty. If more of his money comes from Federal sources than local sources where do think his choice will be made?
Mexico is living the dream.
No they have a very strong authoritarian government
The USMC bought 120 or so first generation MRAPs for testing, but didn't like them due to the fact that the driver had no way to get out of the vehicle other than through the back door.
They ended up giving them away to other agencies. This may be one of those.
So where does he think the money came from? Nobody in Hidalgo county pays federal income tax? The federal tax fairy waved its wand and $1.6 million appeared?
that and a molotov...
They fit the description that you gave for what you desired the United States Government to be, quote, “I want my government to be weak, helpless, underfunded and incompetent.”
I’m thinking some kind of poison gas administered through the gun ports... just slap a tank against the body with some kind of magnetic mount.... if they actually use this beast against the Mexican drug dealers they’re going to find out real quick that being the center of attention isn’t always a good thing.
Ping!
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
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