AURORA, CO — If terrorists come rumbling down East Alameda Avenue toward City Hall, Aurora will be ready.
The city recently received a new $315,000 Ballistic Engineered Armored Response vehicle, nicknamed by the manufacturer as “The BEAR,” that can take on almost any comers that get in its way.
According to its maker, Lenco Armored Vehicles, The BEAR has hardened steel armor plate and ballistic glass, 12 specially designed gunports, a roof hatch with a rotating turret, gunmount platforms and “much more.”
Aurora police officials secured The BEAR through a federal grant from the Denver Urban Area Security Initiative, a regional subdivision under Homeland Security. In exchange for the free vehicle, Aurora agreed to maintain it, store it and make it available to other cities in the region when they need it. “It’s going to change the way we do tactics,” said Aurora police Lt. Sam McGhee, who coordinates emergency services for the department.