BS Ranch Perspective:
this looks like the truck that Rialto Police Departments SWAT Team might very well have one day, but not just that, this story ran about 6 months ago, and was very successful for the Colton Police Department and there SWAT Team, but Earlier On my other BLOG I had Wrote that this type of Vehicle cost almost $225,000.00 and that money can be used in a great array of area's more suited to keeping the Police Officers Alive while doing their job. Instead of having odd number of Motorcycles on their Traffic Division they could use it to purchase one more bike and have the Motor's ride in Teams, this could have prevented my accident so long ago where I lost my life!BS Ranch
PS: however, one life saved is better then any number of anything that the money could have been spent on!!! I hope it saves a life for Rialto's SWAT Team!!
Police enlist 8-ton ally to deal with dangerous suspects
COLTON: The police chief says the bullet-resistant truck will be used when gunfire is exchanged.
10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Colton police added an 8-ton member to its force this month -- a diesel-powered, bullet-resistant vehicle equipped with gun ports. The Ford F-550 frame truck will be deployed if officers exchange gunfire with suspects, rescue anyone injured during a gun battle or serve high-risk search warrants, Police Chief Ken Rulon said. Although there haven't been any full-out gun battles in recent years, officers have had to arrest suspects in places that could be threatening, Lt. Mark Owens said. "The most recent incident we had was when there was a suspect that we needed to arrest who we believed could be armed and dangerous," Owens said of a warrant served last fall. "There was only one way into the home where the suspect was and one way out, and that could have put officers in a compromising situation." The $200,000 vehicle was purchased with money collected when criminals' assets are seized. It has a 40-year life span, Rulon said. Other Inland police agencies also have bullet-resistant vehicles or depend on the one owned by the Sheriff's Department. To make sure everyone is safe during any event, other police agencies may borrow Colton's vehicle during an emergency or to serve warrants, Rulon said. "It's a tool and we should let others have access to it to make their job safer and to protect the public," he said. The vehicle is under the SWAT team's command and has been used three times since it was delivered earlier this month, Rulon said. The truck was used to serve three separate search warrants and is displayed during city events, such as Unity Day, he said. Councilman Richard DeLaRosa said he is glad the department was able to purchase the vehicle without any cost to residents. "With all the gang wars going on in San Bernardino and surrounding cities, you see crime is only getting worse as far as I'm concerned, so it's a benefit to have something like this in Colton," DeLaRosa said. Because the Colton Police Department has SWAT and gang-suppression teams, it is important that officers have the right kind of equipment, he said. In June 2004, a 20-year-old Fontana man was fatally shot in Colton after hijacking a car with two women in it and ramming a police vehicle during a pursuit. Rulon said he doesn't know if the department would have had time to mobilize the bullet-resistant vehicle in that situation because the "suspect was very mobile." "It would be more for rescuing citizens and officers where there is gunfire or high risk or during riot situations," he said. Palm Springs police purchased a Lenco BearCat armored vehicle for a little over $200,000 last month. Sgt. Mitch Spike, a department spokesman, said officers recognized the need for an armored vehicle in 1997 when they responded to a shooting near the outskirts of town that killed two Riverside County sheriff's deputies. "They were shot and bleeding and we couldn't go in and get them because shots were still being fired," Spike said. The Corona Police Department uses an armored car for high-risk scenarios but has no plans for new additions to its fleet, Sgt. Neil Reynolds said. Temecula, Lake Elsinore and Moreno Valley do not have armored vehicles. Lt. Joe Cleary, a Moreno Valley patrol supervisor, said his officers would welcome the addition of that type of vehicle, although it could be impractical. "There isn't a hard and fast answer to it," Cleary said. "Yes, it would be nice to have, but, in terms of regular duties, it (could) be sitting around in the parking lot." Police in the Pass also see the need for an armored vehicle because a booming population will probably lead to an increase in crime, said Lt. Mike Mass of the California Highway Patrol. The Interstate 10 corridor between Cabazon and Calimesa is as ripe for gun battles as any other Inland freeway, Mass said. In Cabazon last June, I-10 was closed when police and a Coachella Valley homicide suspect exchanged at least 90 rounds. No one was injured, but investigators worked for 12 hours processing two crime scenes straddling the Fields Road offramp. Traffic was stacked up for more than 10 miles. "Something like that could easily happen out here," Mass said by phone from the CHP substation in Beaumont. However, Lt. John Acosta said he could not recall a single gun battle in Beaumont during his 24 years with the city's Police Department. "I don't think we're there yet," Acosta said Tuesday. Reach Massiel Ladrón De Guevara at (909) 806-3054 or mdeguevara@PE .com Staff writers Imran Vittachi, David Herman, Patrick O'Neil, Paul DeCarlo and John Asbury contributed to this report.
Greg Vojtko / The Press-Enterprise The Colton Police Department's new $200,000 vehicle was purchased with money collected when criminal assets are seized.
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