Police want to add a five-ton armored truck, minus its weaponry, to their fleet of vehicles. They say the military surplus vehicle could be used to protect officers and residents during rescue operations.
The Cadillac Gage Commando, a heavily armored truck designed for carrying personnel, is being given away, although it would cost about $1,200 to bring it to Neenah from its home at Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington state, said Capt. Tom Long. He has approached the city council about the idea.
“Originally we thought [the vehicle] would be closer, maybe in North Dakota or South Dakota,” Long said.
Long said the Neenah Police Department requested a Ranger from the Defense Department more than two years ago.
The armored truck is designed to carry one or two 7.62 mm machine guns and a grenade launcher, though it will not be equipped with weapons if it comes to Wisconsin.
Long said the armored vehicle could have been used to approach a gunman who was spotted near an elementary school March 6. Authorities evacuated the school only to determine later that the gunman apparently had killed himself.
“That would have been a perfect opportunity to use this vehicle,” Long said. “You could get the officers up there very quickly and safely.”
Long is proposing to store the vehicle in Neenah, but let other area law enforcement agencies use it through mutual-aid agreements.
The city’s Finance and Personnel Committee has recommended that Winnebago County, or some multicounty consortium, own the vehicle.
The panel said that would lessen the costs for Neenah.
