The Toledo Police Department’s request to obtain a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected armored personnel carrier from the Pentagon should be honored.
Both the Toledo police and fire chiefs strongly feel that the vehicle would provide protection for officers, first responders, and other emergency responders who show up at dangerous situations where bullets could be flying.
The primary opposition to it seems to be one of optics. There is fear that the police will deploy this vehicle, which was designed for actual war, against mere protesters, or even in routine police complaint responses.
The vehicle is not armed, and it would be useful transporting emergency responders into a volatile situation where there could be shootings or explosions.
The fear of optics is so central that as a compromise Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz has proposed painting it the colors of the city Public Service Department.
The color is immaterial. The vehicle will be loaned free from the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency and would provide protected transportation for first responders in dangerous situations.