The $270,000 BearCat is needed for rescue operations, police say
Vancouver, Canada – The Vancouver police department expects to order an armored rescue vehicle within a month, making it the first police force in Canada to own one of the $270,000 BearCats.
The Vancouver Police Foundation raised more than $200,000 last week at a retirement roast for former chief Jamie Graham to buy a BearCat.
“I’ll sleep a lot easier once we have one in town,” said Sgt. Norm Webster of the Vancouver Police Emergency Response Team, who has been campaigning for the BearCats or more than two years. “I’m hoping that we’d be able to place an order within a month.”
But a criminologist said armoured vehicles may present the wrong image of the police.
The police foundation — which raises funds for things like police training and equipment — gave the 700 guests at the roast “Fund a BearCat” information forms, listing the highly mobile armoured truck’s qualities, including “increased levels of safety during CBRNE incidents.”