Law enforcement technologyButte County police lobbies for armored vehicle

Published 5 July 2011

For the second year in a row local law enforcement officials in Butte County, California are rallying to obtain grant money to help purchase an armored vehicle; if money from 2011 DHS grants is allocated to Butte County by the state, officials say it would be used to purchase an armored vehicle for the Butte County Sherriff’s Office and Chico

Butte County police seeking an armored vehicle like this // Source: nashville.org

For the second year in a row local law enforcement officials in Butte County, California are rallying to obtain grant money to help purchase an armored vehicle.

Chico police chief Mike Moloney said that if money from 2011 DHS grants is allocated to Butte County by the state, it would be used to purchase an armored vehicle for the Butte County Sherriff’s Office and Chico.

The vehicle costs an estimated $230,000 and includes gun ports, a battering ram, and an armored turret on top. Designed for rapid deployment, the vehicle is likely only able to hold three to four officers.

 

Representatives from the Butte County Sheriff’s office, fire department, police department, County Office of Emergency Services, and health department approved the purchase of the vehicle after allocating funds to other large expenditures like fire and rescue equipment and emergency communications equipment for the county.

The armored vehicle would be based and maintained by Chico, but would be shared with local law enforcement agencies nearby.

Maloney says the vehicle is needed because the county currently has no armored vehicles at their disposal. Citing an incident in Butte Creek Canyon, Maloney said officers had to borrow a dump truck from the city to move in on a suspect who had them pinned down with gunfire.

Currently there is no estimate on when the vehicle will be ordered or received as funding is still pending.