UPDATE: Councilman Blasts PD's Acquisition of MRAP Vehicle, City Manager 'Not Happy'

Banning city council members and city staff were not consulted publicly or in closed session about Banning PD's acquisition of an 18-ton Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle they crashed in September, a Banning councilman said Tuesday.

"I don't think the city needs it and I don't like the way it was acquired," Council Member Don Peterson, who learned of the acquisition after the Sept. 16 crash in Arizona, said in a phone interview Dec. 17.

City Manager Andy Takata was "not very happy" about the crash, according to email he exchanged with Peterson in September.

The Banning Police Department acquired the heavily-armored fighting vehicle, designed to protect military personnel from improvised explosive devices and other ambushes in Iraq and Afghanistan, from the Department of Defense.

According to records and photos released last week to Patch, Banning PD personnel planned to convoy four MRAPs with Redlands PD, West Covina PD and Gardena from Fort Bliss in Texas on Sept. 16.

The Banning police MRAP sustained a tire blowout and crashed into a pickup on Interstate 10 west of Phoenix, which has resulted in a claim of more than $42,000 against the City of Banning.

Although the MRAP acquisition and crash occurred three months ago, an acting police commander and a city spokesman said last week they could not comment because a personnel investigation is still under way.

The Banning city manager, his staff and the Banning city council did not have any idea about the acquisition of the MRAP by then-Chief of Police Leonard Purvis, Peterson said Dec. 17.

"The applying for, and acceptance of the vehicle was done entirely through the Banning Police Department," Peterson said.

Peterson on Tuesday shared with Patch a photo of the Banning police MRAP he received in September, which first alerted him to the acquisition, and an email exchange he had with City Manager Andy Takata.

Here's the first email, with the subject line "Combat Armored Military Escort Vehicle," dated Sept. 20:

Andy,

I am wondering about the new Combat Armored Military Escort Vehicle w/Machine Gun Turret that, the Police Department recently acquired.

Coming from Law Enforcement, I am aware that the Fed. Govt. has a surplus of these vehicles, and often times gives such vehicles to Police Departments for a small fee, and sometimes free of charge.

However, there will still be the expense of paint, markings and decals, emergency equipment (lights, siren, radios, PA's), etc. So, this is really not for free deal. Since the Department is already over budget, do you have any idea where the funds will come from, in order to convert the vehicles Desert Storm appearance to that of a civilian police agency?

Furthermore, I have the below questions:

Did you have prior knowledge of this acquisition?

Did you approve it's acquisition?

Was the City required to pay anything for the vehicle?

If so, How much?

Do you think the appearance of a Combat Armored Military Escort Vehicle is a bit much for a city of 30,000 people?

Does BPD need such a vehicle, and with a machine gun turret?

Is there a need for this type of Combat Vehicle in Banning?

How may times per year is the BPD Emergency Tactical Team called out?

Has the ETU ever had an exchange of gun fire with a subject that they would need a vehicle such as this?

As far as I know, there has not been any insurgent sightings in Banning, I don't know of any I.E.D. incidents, nor have I heard of any car bombings. Personally, I think this vehicle is a bit much.

Don Peterson, Councilman
City of Banning, CA

Takata replied on Sept. 22:

Don,

Sorry I didn't get to you earlier. I had no knowledge of the Combat Armored Military Escort Vehicle. I will be looking into it upon my return.

Thank you for your email.

Andy Takata

Peterson wrote back on Sept. 22:

Wow Andy.....

So you had no knowledge of this acquisition. If that is the case, you probably do not know about the accident this vehicle was involved in on the way back to Banning? From what I understand, this urban assault vehicle totaled out a pick up truck on the I-10 when a tire blew out.

I am assuming the City will be on the hook for a new pick up. Isn't it amazing, the bills are already starting to accrue.

Takata wrote back on Sept. 23:

I had no knowledge of the acquisition, but I did hear about the accident. Needless to say I am not very happy.

If you have any questions or concern, please do not hesitate to call.

Respectfully yours,

Andrew (Andy) J. Takata, City Manager

The International MaxxPro MRAP "is built to withstand ballistic arms fire, mine blasts, IEDs, and nuclear, biological and chemical environments that threaten the safety of its crew," according to Navistar Defense.

The maximum road speed for MRAPs similar to the one acquired and crashed by Banning police is listed by multiple online sources at 65 mph. The posted speed limit where the crash occurred was 75 mph, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

Approached last week after city records about the MRAP and the crash were released to Patch, Lt. Phil Holder, one of Banning's two acting police commanders, and Banning city spokesman Bill Manis declined to comment.

Redlands PD's MRAP acquisition was also without city council approval, a city spokesman confirmed to Patch on Monday.

"It has not been presented to council yet and we don't have an estimate for any retrofits," City of Redlands spokesman Carl Baker said in an email Dec. 16. "We are not allowing photos of it until it has been retrofit."

It remained unclear this week whether police departments in West Covina and Gardena consulted their city councils before they accepted surplus MRAPs from the Department of Defense and made arrangements to convoy the armored vehicles with Banning PD and Redlands PD personnel from Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.

For more info on MRAP acquisitions by local law enforcement and the Sept. 16 crash see:

UPDATE: Police Acquisition of Armored Vehicles, Costly Crash Under Scrutiny