After using a military surplus vehicle for tactical response calls for the past nine years, the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office purchased its own armored vehicle for use in standoffs, water rescues and — mostly — community events across Southeast Nebraska.
Sheriff Terry Wagner on Friday unveiled the new vehicle, a BearCat, manufactured by the Massachusetts-based armored vehicle company Lenco.
The sheriff's office ordered the truck, which cost $359,000, earlier this year, paying for it with forfeited funds acquired through criminal investigations such as drug seizures.
"Not a dime of taxpayer dollars went to buy this," Wagner said.
The BearCat replaces a large, more militarized emergency rescue vehicle that has been in use for nearly a decade, though the sheriff's office had only spent $9,000 on its upkeep in that timeframe.
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The previously used vehicle had been useful for water rescues when Nebraska faced intense flooding in 2019, Wagner said, but was ultimately difficult to drive on city streets. Deputies had to undergo specific training to operate the vehicle.
The military-owned vehicle will be returned to surplus. Its replacement drives more like a full-sized pickup, Wagner said.
"It's much more comfortable to drive, easier," he said. "And has the same personnel capacity as the (previous vehicle). And it has the same ballistic capability."
Wagner said both armored vehicles, which seat 10, are capable of stopping .50-caliber bullets.
The BearCat will be activated in so-called "tactical" situations, often when the sheriff's office or Lincoln Police Department are engaged in standoffs with armed residents. Wagner said they also deploy the armored truck for "hazardous warrant service" — when searching the home of or arresting a suspect who is thought to be armed or dangerous.
"We can transport officers or deputies to a close proximity to the house and have them protected by the vehicle on either side," the sheriff said.
The previous armored vehicle had been used 24 times between July 2021 and this month, according to the sheriff's office. Often, those calls are initiated not by the sheriff's office, but by law enforcement partners, including the police department, Nebraska State Patrol or neighboring sheriff's offices.
More often, the vehicle is used for community events. Since the BearCat arrived last month, it's been dispatched twice: to a trunk-or-treat event and a benefit event in Waverly.
Wagner dismissed the criticisms that inherently accompany the purchase of an armored vehicle by law enforcement agencies policing civilians.
"I would say if this saves one sheriff deputy's life, one state trooper's life, one Lincoln Police officer's life — I don't care about that criticism," he said. "It's well worth the expense."
Whether the previous armored vehicle had saved the lives of any local law enforcement agents in the last nine years, Wagner couldn't say definitively.Â
"Well, you don't know what you don't know," he said. "It's difficult to say, but it certainly gives you a better tactical advantage when you're approaching a house with an armed suspect."