By Christina Hall
Detroit Free Press
DETROIT — Weeks after returning their military surplus tracked armored vehicles, two county sheriff’s offices in southeastern Michigan are to get wheeled armored vehicles to add to their arsenal from the same federal donation program.
Macomb and Oakland county sheriff’s offices are the only two agencies in Michigan and among 11 nationally recently approved to receive Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, or MRAPs, through the federal program that donates military surplus items to law enforcement agencies.
The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office is on the list of law enforcement agencies that have requested an MRAP and is “on a waiting list of sorts,” Undersheriff Daniel Pfannes said. The county does not have the funds to buy a wheeled armored vehicle.
Susan Lowe, public affairs specialist with Defense Logistics Agency, which oversees the federal surplus program, said in an email today that 396 law enforcement agencies throughout the country have requested MRAPs and that those “that turned in their tracked armored vehicles and have completed all the necessary paperwork get first priority.”
Eleven law enforcement agencies have been issued an MRAP, including Macomb and Oakland county sheriff’s offices. Of those, 10 had tracked armored vehicles that were recalled, Lowe said.
Oakland County Undersheriff Michael McCabe said his agency put its name on the list before President Barack Obama issued an executive order that recalled certain types of vehicles, in particular armored personnel carriers that move on tracks, as well as bayonets and grenade launchers that were distributed to law enforcement agencies through the federal surplus program.
The recall affected 15 law enforcement agencies in Michigan, which since 2006 has received more than $40 million worth of surplus military equipment, including 17 MRAPs, under the program, which is designed to beef up law enforcement agencies with equipment no longer needed for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The equipment ranges from rifles to helicopters to flashlights to first-aid kits.
But news photos and video out of Ferguson, Mo., in the days after the 2014 fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an African American, by a white police officer, that depicted a police force dressed in full combat gear and riding around in armored vehicles prompted a nationwide call to end the militarization of police and all or part of the federal surplus program known as the 1033 program.
Macomb County officials were livid about returning their tracked armored vehicle, which it had used for its SWAT team since 2004. They were told no MRAPs were available but decided to add their name to the list when one did become available. They also had several discussions with the offices of area U.S. Congressional representatives to make something happen.
U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township, said today that first responders may find themselves in “rapidly-evolving, dangerous situations that may necessitate such equipment.”
“It is imperative that our first responders have the resources and equipment they need to safely do their jobs and keep our communities safe, which is why I strongly oppose the president’s executive order disarming them. This surplus equipment has already been paid for by taxpayers, and they should continue to benefit from them. While I am pleased that the Macomb County Sheriff’s Department will be receiving a replacement vehicle, I believe the first one should have never been recalled to begin with,” Miller said in an statement.
Sheriff Anthony Wickersham asked Macomb County commissioners in December if he could spend about $350,000 in expected savings from his department’s 2015 budget this year to buy a different wheeled vehicle as a replacement. He said he is still going to move forward with his request to buy a different kind of wheeled vehicle. He said there arel reasons to buy another wheeled vehicle in addition to receiving an MRAP, but he declined to elaborate today.
“Right now, we don’t know the condition of the (MRAP),” he said.
The MRAPs for Macomb and Oakland counties are in Little Rock, Ark. Wickersham said it would be available after today and would cost about $3,500 to transport it to Michigan.
McCabe said Oakland County may pick up its MRAP next week. He said the two counties were discussing if one company could transport both vehicles on one trailer. Oakland County has other armored vehicles, one of which McCabe said was used about a month ago.
“It’s a safe box for officers and citizens,” he said of the armored vehicles.
Pfannes said Wayne County Sheriff’s officials are “cautiously optimistic” about getting an MRAP. He said law enforcement agencies must move them from the military bases, which is a cost, and the MRAPs are not guaranteed to be in operational order.
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