New SWAT Truck Boasts Latest in Law-Enforcement Muscle

If you love "Die Hard" as much as we do (and by all accounts, you should), you no doubt remember the classic line from Theo, the ahead-of-his-time hacker charged with helping the bad guys break into the vault while also keeping an eye on the cops, whose SWAT team was fast-approaching in a menacing armored truck:

"What have we here, gentlemen? The police have themselves an RV!"

Thanks to a grant from the Department of Homeland Security, the West County SWAT Team, which includes seven Fountain Valley police officers, now has its own RV as well. Its proper name is the BearCat, and it's $300,000 worth of power, armor and technology.

The BearCat is built on the frame of a Ford F-550 pickup. Its armor-wrapped exterior can withstand multiple .50-caliber rounds, and its self-contained interior can protect SWAT team members from almost any kind of chemical or biological attack. And yet, for all of its modern bells and whistles, it runs on diesel, and anyone with a class C driver's license can get behind the wheel.

"You can never predict when bad things will happen," Fountain Valley Police Capt. Mike Simko said. "It's good to have this type of equipment just in case, and also ties into a greater national security plan...It's exciting because it provides a tremendous amount of security for our officers."

Fountain Valley took the lead on getting the BearCat for the West County SWAT Team. With nothing more than a presentation and a promise to care for the truck one its three-year service contract is up, Homeland Security cut the check and the BearCat was on its way to Westminster. As part of the deal, the SWAT team also agreed to share the truck with other county agencies as needed.

In addition to its safety features, the BearCat also has its share of advances when it comes to persuading suspects that surrender might be their most prudent option. The most convincing might be its hydraulic ram, which, in addition to allowing officers to "knock" on a suspect's door, also lets them deliver heated tear gas canisters without ever getting out of the truck. In addition to being safer for officers, Simko said, it's also almost always a better option for the suspect.

"Our goal is to end it peacefully," he said. "We never want to release the pointy end of the spear unless we absolutely have to. We'd always rather talk them out."