BRUNSWICK

The debate over whether to accept a surplus armored vehicle donated by the Department of Defense saw the Brunswick Police Department in the middle of a cross-fire during a debate on Monday. Supporters said the vehicle is a necessary tool that could help save lives, while several residents said the vehicle, known as a Peacekeeper, was wasteful and unnecessary.

The town council voted overwhelmingly to accept the vehicle.

Council Chairwoman Sarah Brayman cast the one dissenting vote, noting the town has access to the Cumberland County sheriff ’s own Peacekeeper.

Other opponents, however, took to the lectern to vent their frustrations at Brunswick police.

“Does anyone really think we need such a vehicle in Brunswick, Maine?” said an acerbic former town councilor Karen Klatt. “This is not L.A., California. It is a stretch to say we need this for our police department. I’m sure the police department thinks it needs such a toy. … Perhaps it would enhance the Memorial Day parade.”

Resident Jason Coombs, however, said the town ought to do “anything to protect our officers.”

“Any tool you get to enhance their job and make it so they can get home at night is not a toy,” Coombs said.

“I think any police officer who wants to get home no matter what shouldn’t be in uniform,” said resident Richard Fisco.

Fisco’s criticism of Brunswick police extended to the Jim D. Swint memorial at the police department. Swint, also a former Marine, reportedly died in 1990 in a car crash while in pursuit of a suspect. Noting Swint crashed into a utility pole, Fisco said he would be “embarrassed” to walk in front of the monument were he a police officer.

That comment drew jeers and a rebuke from Coombs, also a former Marine.

Resident Joe Ciarrocca noted his distrust of Brunswick police. “I would be frightened to see some of these people in or out of uniform,” Ciarrocca said.

“If the chief says he has a need, I’m going to accept that,” said Councilor John Richardson. “I know this department is one of the most educated departments in the state. … We have a great department here. I trust their judgment.”

“Do we need this? My judgment says probably not, but they (the police) don’t ask for a heck of a lot from us,” said Councilor Suzan Wilson.

The defense department contacted Brunswick police on Feb. 5 with an offer to donate the Peacekeeper to enhance the department’s Special Reaction Team, according to Police Chief Richard Rizzo.

The vehicle’s original price was $65,000, according to Brunswick Police Commander Marc Hagan.

Manufactured in 1989 but with only 19,000 miles on it, the vehicle would be free, although the town would pay to transport it from where it is being stored in Wisconsin. It will cost up to $2,400 to ship the vehicle.

According to Hagan, Peacekeepers were produced primarily in the 1980s on a shortened Dodge pickup chassis with a V-8 gas engine. They are fitted with light armor capable of protecting its occupants from small arms and rifle fire.

“This is a much needed tool for Brunswick officers and the safety of its residents,” Rizzo told the council. “The vehicle is really about officer safety.”

“When you have a piece of equipment like that, there may be a temptation to use it when you can get by without using it,” said Councilor Dan Harris. “I’m concerned with creating a community relations problem with police. This is an ugly-looking machine.”

In response to statements by Harris, Hagan said the Peacekeeper is only used with the Special Response Team, which is not utilized in scenarios such as crowd control.

While in use by Brunswick police, the vehicle will still be property of the federal government, said Hagan.

This particular Peacekeeper was most recently in service with the Bloomington (Minn.) Police Department. It is believed that the vehicle, although 26 years old, is in good condition, said Hagan.

Police said they have reason to get the vehicle, with Hagan specifically citing an October 2014 incident in which police responded to shots fired from a house on Mere Point Road. Brunswick police used a Cumberland County Sheriff’s Peacekeeper in order to “put our negotiators safely in front of the residence, where they were able to make contact, and negotiate with the suspect from a position of safety,” Hagan wrote in a memo.

Hagan told the council that the response time for the sheriff ’s department to arrive with their Peacekeeper is about two hours.

He added: “This simply would not have been possible without Cumberland County’s vehicle, and the outcome could have been far more devastating to suspect and community as a whole.”

In an interview, Hagan said that police have not been fired upon in recent memory.

“What I can tell you is that our special response team responded to 11 incidents in the last five years. Six (incidents) involved firearms — handguns, shotguns and highpowered rifles,” Hagan said.

According to Rizzo, seven of Maine’s nine police departments that have special reaction teams have this type of vehicle. Other departments that have armored vehicles include state police, Portland, South Portland, Cumberland County, Sanford, York and Bangor.

The national debate over militarization of local police departments has grown heated in light of the police response to the 2014 riots in Ferguson, Mo.

Hagan acknowledged the controversy, writing: “My concern is less about political climate however, and more directed toward public safety. This vehicle would be a piece of equipment that would be used for the safety of the town of Brunswick’s officers and citizens. It would not be deployed to monitor protests, or marches, or parades. Its deployment would mirror that of our Special Response Team, which is to augment law enforcement needs that occur above and beyond the normal course of duty, such as terrorist activity, barricaded criminals, hostage situations, other scenarios with a high risk of violence.”

Rizzo noted that Brunswick police declined an offer by DOD to donate a mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle, or MRAP.

“Unlike the MRAP, which is a huge 18-ton truck, the Peacekeeper is just a one-ton pickup truck frame with protective armor,” Rizzo wrote.

Councilor Steve Walker said his “knee-jerk reaction” to the request was “no friggin’ way,” but said he became convinced that the vehicle will be used as “a safe haven, a shield” and a “way to evacuate people in harm’s way.”

Councilor Dave Watson, a retired Brunswick police officer, said he would vote to “protect my brothers and sisters.”

“I can think of many times we could have used this type of vehicle,” said Watson. “Times are getting less sane. … This vehicle does not only protect police officers. It protects the citizens. We just had a bank robbery here a short time ago. Things are happening in Brunswick that never happened before.”

THE VEHICLE’S original price was $65,000, according to Brunswick Police Commander Marc Hagan.

MANUFACTURED IN 1989 but with only 19,000 miles on it, the Peacekeeper vehicle would be free, although the town would pay to transport it from where it is being stored in Wisconsin. It will cost up to $2,400 to ship the vehicle.

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