Funds from the Arizona Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act will pay for a new armored vehicle to replace one built in 1993 and used by the Apache Junction Police Department Special Weapons and Tactics unit.
The city’s allotment of $4.8 million of CARES Act funds is a reimbursement based on the salary and benefit costs of public safety personnel.
The contract to purchase a $298,075 four-door diesel Lenco BearCat armored vehicle with a seven-inch vertical gun-port upgrade was approved in a unanimous City Council vote Jan. 19.
“Yes, as long as I can go on the off-road test drive,” Councilwoman Gail Evans said in voting.
“We all, of course, support our law enforcement, but, in my opinion, this is one of those things that you’re going to wish you had it when you don’t have it,” Councilman Braden Biggs said in voting. “So for $300,000, I’d rather keep one of our officers — or many of our officers — alive to return home to their families and continue serving our public, so ‘yes,’” he said.
The four-wheel-drive vehicle is to be painted urban green and have a rotating hatch, back-up camera system with monitor, heating and air conditioning, and a roof-mounted remote-control spotlight, according to the quote from the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, company Lenco Armored Vehicles.
Lenco designs and manufactures armored police vehicles for law-enforcement agencies and state police and sheriff’s department SWAT teams. The business also manufactures armored military vehicles for international police forces, the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marines, according to its website.
Discussion by the public
Two members of the public spoke against using the funds for the armored vehicle. Their comments were in the call-to-the-public section of the meeting, which Mayor Chip Wilson moved from the end of the agenda to before a staff report and discussion on the use of the CARES Act funds.
One resident said he doesn’t support militarizing the police department.
“I personally strongly support our law enforcement. I mean, I used to be a correctional officer myself for a little bit and I used to go work in a prison just carrying pepper spray and a radio, so I know how difficult it is for our people who work in that field there,” said Jeff Barlett, of the 100 block of North Meridian Drive. “I personally don’t support militarizing our police; I don’t think it’s a good idea. It causes tension between people in law enforcement, and I don’t think it’s necessary for a town of only 40,000 people. I don’t think it’s a good idea for these larger cities either — I think it causes problems.”
The CARES Act funds should be used for other needs in the community, another resident said.
“This is a high-ticket item, and I also have served as a correctional officer,” said Andrew Daniel, of the 950 W. 19th Ave. “We do need law enforcement right now. We are living in a nearing-the-end-of-COVID, thankfully, and post-COVID city. There’s going to be a large mental health substance abuse issue. I do believe that there is a much greater use of these funds than something that gives this kind of impression to the community... I would strongly recommend that the council looks at using these funds — or at least allocating a decent amount of funds — for the kind of community that we’re going to have in the next coming years. There is the issue with unemployment, there is the issue with substance abuse,” he said.
Replaces 28-year-old vehicle
The 1993 Ford armored bank truck now used by the AJPD SWAT unit was purchased in about 2006 from the Mesa Police Department and is used 12 to 18 times a year. It may stop handgun rounds, is not fully armored, has no roof hatch for emergency rescues such as during storms, cannot go off the pavement or in any amount of water and has no air conditioning, Apache Junction Police Chief Thomas Kelley told the council.
“Each year since I’ve been here we’ve been looking to try to advance the SWAT unit’s capabilities and professionalism and raise it to where they are protected when they go out on calls. The vehicle that is up there right now maybe can handle any gunfire that comes through it. The officers consistently face other armaments, whether long guns or otherwise,” he said. “Each year in the past we have asked for this to be placed into our budget to consider replacing this vehicle.”
It’s not a militarization of the police department to have such a vehicle, he said.
“The important thing — and I heard a ... couple people talk about the militarization of the police department or anything else — that’s not the intent of this. In fact, this is the opposite side. We’re not trying to look like we’re trying to be the military,” Chief Kelley said. “We’re looking to get out and protect our public that we serve. This vehicle is sent out for those high-risk events where either shots are fired, a person’s barricaded, we have a hostage situation ... The vehicle that you currently see there — they’ve been using it, risk factor has been there, it’s continued to be there and it’s gotten to the point where it’s not user-friendly any longer.”
The new vehicle and its windows are armored to stop rifle rounds. It can go off-road in the desert, and has a roof hatch, the chief said.
“The vehicle can operate as a temporary ambulance if needed to extract people or citizens from a school. Somebody said we don’t have to — one of the people got up and said, ‘You know, it’s Apache Junction, it’s 40,000 people, what do we need to have this type of vehicle for?’ Well, I just ask you to remember Sandy Hook; that is a community of about 14,000 people and several children were killed,” Chief Kelley said of the December 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. “We have to plan for the worst scenario and when the worst scenario happens, I don’t want to report back to you-all that we didn’t have the equipment to support. It’s an officers’ safety issue, it’s a citizens’ safety issue, it’s a victims’ service situation.”
The municipality received Arizona CARES Act funds that are to be used for law enforcement purposes, he said.
“This is an operational piece of equipment. We’ve been trying to do it for several years and each time we’ve gone through we haven’t had the money. With the CARES Act money that was destined for law-enforcement use, this is one of the things we’ve been asking for and the time came and that’s what the money would be used for. It’s not going to come out of any city dollars or taxpayers’ dollars; this is CARES Act money,” he said.
Richard Dyer Managing Editor | East Valley @RHDyer
Meet Richard Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.
Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions.
Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.
Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.
Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.
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