A vehicle similar to the one in use by local police in Afghanistan in 2009.
Credit: Jonathan Mallard
The vehicle sitting inside Lower Makefield’s salt shed recently.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
A local SWAT team that serves more than a dozen Bucks County towns has acquired a heavily-armored vehicle that is expected to keep cops safe.
The South Central Emergency Response Team (SCERT) – the multi-jurisdictional special weapons and tactics team that serves Ivyland, Langhorne, Langhorne Manor, Lower Makefield, Lower Southampton, Morrisville, Newtown Borough, Newtown Township, Northampton, Penndel, Tullytown, Upper Southampton, Warrington and Yardley – recently obtained a late 2000s model Navistar Defense MaxxPro Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) that was previously used by the military.
The new vehicle is housed at the Lower Makefield police station and still needs to be outfitted for local police before it can be put in use, said Captain Bob Lewis, who is with the Lower Makefield police department and serves a supervisory role to the SCERT.
Mechanics are still going over the vehicle since it was transported from a base in northern Texas to Bucks County recently, Lewis said. The next step, the captain added, is to outfit the vehicle with lighting, police equipment and give it a new coat of paint.
Lewis said the vehicle was included free as part of the Department of Defense’s 1033 program that distributes surplus military equipment to law enforcement. The only cost was to transport the vehicle to the area.
One of the tracked SWAT armored personnel carriers responding to a 2012 standoff in Doylestown.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
The MRAP vehicle will replace two tracked Vietnam War-era armored personnel carriers that have been used by the SCERT for more than a decade. The tracked vehicles are being returned to the military to comply with Executive Order 13688, which was signed by President Barack Obama last year, amid concerns about the “militarization” of the police using military surplus, especially tank-like vehicles.
The diesel engine-powered vehicle features seating in the rear for six people and room for two more, including the driver, in the front cabin. The MRAP is also bullet resistant and can withstand direct blasts from explosive devices. According to Navistar Defense, the vehicle weighs about 40,000 pounds.
While the SCERT is currently working up a policy on use of the massive armored vehicle, SCERT operators have trained already with military personnel in New Jersey on driving the large vehicle, Lewis said. Use of the vehicle will be left to the discretion of the SCERT leaders and will be based on need.
Lewis said the vehicle will come in use to protect officers during dangerous situations and can even be used to rescue residents trapped during flooding and other natural disasters.
A Lenco Bearcat SWAT truck approaches the scene.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
The tracked-vehicles were rarely used in standoffs in Lower Bucks County. An armored Bearcat police vehicle has been more commonly driven down from Doylestown. The vehicle was most recently used during a standoff in Bensalem and another near Neshaminy High School in Middletown.
Bucks County police agencies have benefited from the Pentagon’s 1033 program over the year, mainly receiving weapons, clothing accessories and a handful of vehicles.
Lewis said much of the new MRAP ‘s maintenance can be handled by township-employed mechanics and is similar to that of regular vehicles. However, the vehicle can require some specialty parts.
A second MRAP belongs to the Central Bucks Central Emergency Response Team and was received in 2014.
