Los Angeles, CA – The LAPD’s new armored rescue vehicle can carry 15 officers.
Bullets from an AK-47 just bounce off the hull. Move over Ram, the BEAR is here.
A new SWAT truck that resembles a Hummer on steroids is the latest weapon in the Los Angeles Police Department’s arsenal.
The monster truck, dubbed the LAPD Rescue Vehicle, is 14 tons of protection. Nothing short of a rocket-propelled grenade will trouble this powerhouse clad in a half-inch of high-tech ballistic steel.
And with a growling, 300-horsepower Caterpillar engine, a front end capable of breaching concrete walls and four-wheel drive, there few places the BEAR can’t go. Inside, 15 fully equipped Special Weapons and Tactics officers can be at the ready.
The BEAR’s arrival means the LAPD can mothball a pair of Vietnam War-vintage V-100 armored vehicles, better known as Rams, from the era of former Police Chief Daryl F. Gates.
BEAR stands for Ballistic Engineered Armored Response. It is one of the first vehicles specifically built as a SWAT truck. Painted black, it made its debut, along with the designer gowns, outside the Oscars, idling on a Hollywood High School athletic field.
“It’s in a league of its own,” said Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell, his voice resonating with pride. “The BEAR could be used for an armed confrontation, a barricaded suspect or a hostage crisis. It’s a great platform to perform rescues in a lethal environment.”