Reasons Small Town Police Have MRAPs In Their Own Words.

As pretty much everyone knows by now the federal government has been giving out MRAPs like toys on Christmas. Now the reason i am starting this thread is I wanted to make a list of all the reasons myself and others could find that they give for having these war machines. If you want to know more about this program just search MRAP giveaway in any search engine and you will find pages of articles, such as this one close to where i live.

www.statesman.com..." target="_blank" class="postlink">Bastrop County Sheriff’s office receives armored vehicle

I still cant see any reason that a police department would ever need this, unless of course their city or county is riddled with IEDs. I worked on and drove these machines, they are good for what they were designed for and that is about it.

The police department in my town with a population of roughly 6,000 recently got one and me knowing most of the cops around here started asking them why. O and dont let me forget we only have 2 patrol officers on duty at any given time, unless there is a festival or special event.

If you want to list a reason make sure it is either directly from a cop or quoted from a cop in an article. First list the reason they give, then a short rebuttal if you would like, and the size or population of your town if you dont mind. Try to steer away from making things up or giving reasons they "might" say. The fun part of this is seeing how they justify it.

Here is what I have gotten so far...

1. Hostage situations - because they happen so often here and if it ever did you still have to get out of the truck at some point.

2. School Bomb Threats - awesome if you plan on driving this into the school to find a bomb, again you have to get out at some point.

this is one my favorites...
3. Serving Warrants - Seriously!?! Who are you serving warrants to? Al Qaeda? If the guys your serving warrants to have set IEDs you probably shouldnt drive in there.

4. Emergencies during Storms (Floods/Tornados) - So you want to take a top heavy vehicle out in 70-100mph winds? good luck with that. and again getting out of the truck is required eventually.

I mean seriously anything other than doing convoys or combat ops is pretty much wasted on this vehicle. Think about it, the US military doesnt throw anything away unless it is not cost effective to do maintenance to have for future use. Trust me i have been in the warehouses full of everything you can imagine. So lets see if we can come up with any GOOD reasons, I would love to hear one.

a reply to: TexasSeabee

#4 cracked me up! But in their defense I guess, some people just have no physics knowledge, or common sense for that matter!

I agree that it is NOT necessary for Any local cops to have these. Other than intimidation, they would be of no other use in reality. Just sayin...... Syx.

a reply to: TexasSeabee


Civil disobedience and or rioting. The jig is up, they know the government they protect has gone too far too many times. One of these days, they will be useful in quelling these events, that are all but certainly coming.

Or close to what he said. Also mentioned something about possible fuel and or food supply issues if the mid east keeps acting dumb and the drought gripping much of the western half of the country.

Though they do try to plan for the problems they will face tomorrow not the ones they are facing today, I found this very disturbing.

It is important to break up citizen riots though, before too much damage and carnage occur. People get out of hand and get each other killed etc... Was another rational used. Though I have never seen an actual riot in any city I have ever been in, so it isnt like it is a wide spread very likely to happen.

IDK......a small city in central Indiana got one as well, this is where I grew up, at. I lived about 25 miles from this city in a small town. They have no need for an MRAP.

Thank you for your service TexasSeabee.
I fielded MRAPS in Iraq, fixed them in Kuwait and worked BDR on MRAPs & MATVs in Afghanistan.

MRAPs were designed as a weapon of war. That doesn't change when they get issued on US soil. Anyone who thinks they are for the protection of the public is living a delusion. We laugh at MRAPs out here, we know them inside and out.

Our local PD says is "to provide armored protection for officers during a standoff with an armed suspect." There is no good reason for use on US soil, against US citizens. Now if they were headed out to the Mexican border to patrol they would be right at home. Too bad they ain't.