Santa Ana Police Add Military Truck for Use in Hostage Situations and Gun Battles

Weighing in at 5 tons, with a gun turret and armor plating, the Peacekeeper assault and rescue vehicle is not your normal police car.

But the four-wheel-drive military truck, to be used mostly for hostage rescues, is the latest addition to the Santa Ana Police Department. The bulletproof, gray sport-utility vehicle was obtained for free from a state program that screens military surplus goods for reuse by local law enforcement agencies.

“When do you use it? Not very often,” said Steven H. Staveley, president of the Orange County Chiefs of Police and Sheriff’s Assn. “But when you need one, that’s the only thing in the world that will do.”

Officials point to a recent, deadly shootout with bank robbers in the streets of North Hollywood as one situation in which such a vehicle would be useful. When police are locked in gun battles, the Peacekeeper can wade into the fray to rescue officers or hostages.

“This thing would be able to go right into the midst of the firefight,” Santa Ana Police Sgt. Bob Clark said. “You won’t have to retreat.”

With half an inch of armor plating and small, bulletproof windows, the vehicle can withstand blasts from most high-powered handguns and rifles, Santa Ana SWAT Sgt. John Follo said. It can withstand grenades, and the roof is slightly arched, so gasoline from Molotov cocktails trickles off.

Besides the turret, which will not have a gun, the truck has seven gun portholes. It has a top speed of 70 mph and eventually will be outfitted with police sirens.

Follo said the vehicle, valued at $130,000 new, mostly will be used for rescues. But the truck also could be used to knock down walls or charge buildings where suspects are barricaded.

About two months ago, Anaheim received a similar Peacekeeper, also known as a Commando Ranger, through the California Counter-Drug Procurement Program, said Anaheim Police Lt. Dave Severson.

The program was set up to distribute military surplus material, from goggles to vehicles, for anti-drug work. The program has retained its original name, but the surplus now is used for a broad range of law enforcement work, program deputy director David Shaw said.

Police in Santa Ana and Anaheim estimated they would use their armored cars about eight times a year.

Santa Ana’s vehicle, which officials say was built around 1979, is now in the city yard and in need of repair.

The truck was formerly used by the Air Force to patrol missile silos, and the engine, which probably will be replaced, is disconnected. Spare parts are strewn through the bare interior. But within three months, officials plan to complete $10,000 worth of renovations, including a navy blue paint job, that will put the vehicle on the road.

“The beauty about this thing is, it’s American-made, and it runs on gasoline,” Follo said. “If something went wrong, we could go to Trak Auto and get the parts.”