Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

San Diego Unified scores mine-resistant Army truck

"We can drive up to the building, cram 30 kids in, and get them to safety."

A conceptual photograph of the vehicle with paint and decals (emergency lights also pending).  This is not the final rendition of the vehicle's appearance.
A conceptual photograph of the vehicle with paint and decals (emergency lights also pending). This is not the final rendition of the vehicle's appearance.

Tons of surplus weaponry have rained down on California from the Pentagon's excess property giveaway, otherwise known as the 1033 Program, with a sizable allotment landing in San Diego County.

San Diego's police department got 76 M-16s, the Army's assault rifle, valued at $37,924, and also was given an armored truck worth $65,070, according to a spreadsheet obtained under the California public records act from the California Office of Emergency Services and posted online by MuckRock/News.

County sheriff Bill Gore received ten M-14 selective-fire automatic rifles, now used by the U.S. military primarily for competition and sniping. The allotment was valued at $1380, according to the spreadsheet.

The biggest local beneficiary of the government's largesse has been the San Diego Unified School District, which picked up a brand new Mine Resistant Ambush Protection Vehicle, worth $733,000, the disclosure says.

Sponsored
Sponsored

In a controversial move, the military loaded up on the so-called MRAPs during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in a procurement that ultimately cost almost $50 billion, according to an October 2012 report by Time:

"Michael J. Sullivan, a military-procurement expert at the Government Accountability Office, told the House Armed Services Committee in 2009 that the trucks were coming off the assembly line so fast that testing and fielding had a 'high degree of overlap' resulting in 'orders for thousands of vehicles [being] placed before operational testing.'"

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has captured some of the vehicles, weighing between 14 to 18 tons, during the current fighting in Iraq, but many others have been handed out to local enforcement agencies in the United States under the excess-property program.

"It certainly does seem to be a case of overkill,” Kara Dansky of the American Civil Liberties Union, told National Public Radio last week. "We think that local governments can and should demand public hearings when local police want to apply to the Pentagon to receive military equipment."

A school official here says the district is thankful for the government's handout.

"Our version is an Army version," says San Diego Unified School District police captain Joe Florentino. "The only cost to the district was about $5000 to ship it from a military storage depot in Texas. It's a new vehicle, not a hand-me-down….

“We recognize the public concern over perceived ‘militarization of law enforcement,’ but nothing could be further from the truth for School Police,” Florentino added in an email.

“[Rescue Task Force] tactics were born from the painful lessons of the 1999 Columbine tragedy, when officers waited outside for tactical teams while children and teachers were being killed inside of the school,” he continued.

“Our Rescue Vehicle provides the highest-level of protection for law enforcement to make entry under heavy fire while treating/evacuating students. We can actually fit an entire classroom of elementary students inside our Rescue Vehicle.”

The vehicle, which has been painted a dark gray by students at Morse High School, will eventually be outfitted with video cameras and $30,000 worth of medical supplies, the cost of which is to be donated.

"Now we can get in and rescue people if a shooting breaks out," Florentino says. "We can drive up to the building, cram 30 kids in, and get them to safety." The MRAP could also transport paramedics safely to the scene of school disasters to set up casualty and triage centers, he adds.

The school district will also make the vehicle available to other local law-enforcement agencies on a shared basis for use during civil disturbances and other violent incidents, as well as natural disasters.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

March is typically windy, Sage scents in the foothills

Butterflies may cross the county
A conceptual photograph of the vehicle with paint and decals (emergency lights also pending).  This is not the final rendition of the vehicle's appearance.
A conceptual photograph of the vehicle with paint and decals (emergency lights also pending). This is not the final rendition of the vehicle's appearance.

Tons of surplus weaponry have rained down on California from the Pentagon's excess property giveaway, otherwise known as the 1033 Program, with a sizable allotment landing in San Diego County.

San Diego's police department got 76 M-16s, the Army's assault rifle, valued at $37,924, and also was given an armored truck worth $65,070, according to a spreadsheet obtained under the California public records act from the California Office of Emergency Services and posted online by MuckRock/News.

County sheriff Bill Gore received ten M-14 selective-fire automatic rifles, now used by the U.S. military primarily for competition and sniping. The allotment was valued at $1380, according to the spreadsheet.

The biggest local beneficiary of the government's largesse has been the San Diego Unified School District, which picked up a brand new Mine Resistant Ambush Protection Vehicle, worth $733,000, the disclosure says.

Sponsored
Sponsored

In a controversial move, the military loaded up on the so-called MRAPs during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in a procurement that ultimately cost almost $50 billion, according to an October 2012 report by Time:

"Michael J. Sullivan, a military-procurement expert at the Government Accountability Office, told the House Armed Services Committee in 2009 that the trucks were coming off the assembly line so fast that testing and fielding had a 'high degree of overlap' resulting in 'orders for thousands of vehicles [being] placed before operational testing.'"

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has captured some of the vehicles, weighing between 14 to 18 tons, during the current fighting in Iraq, but many others have been handed out to local enforcement agencies in the United States under the excess-property program.

"It certainly does seem to be a case of overkill,” Kara Dansky of the American Civil Liberties Union, told National Public Radio last week. "We think that local governments can and should demand public hearings when local police want to apply to the Pentagon to receive military equipment."

A school official here says the district is thankful for the government's handout.

"Our version is an Army version," says San Diego Unified School District police captain Joe Florentino. "The only cost to the district was about $5000 to ship it from a military storage depot in Texas. It's a new vehicle, not a hand-me-down….

“We recognize the public concern over perceived ‘militarization of law enforcement,’ but nothing could be further from the truth for School Police,” Florentino added in an email.

“[Rescue Task Force] tactics were born from the painful lessons of the 1999 Columbine tragedy, when officers waited outside for tactical teams while children and teachers were being killed inside of the school,” he continued.

“Our Rescue Vehicle provides the highest-level of protection for law enforcement to make entry under heavy fire while treating/evacuating students. We can actually fit an entire classroom of elementary students inside our Rescue Vehicle.”

The vehicle, which has been painted a dark gray by students at Morse High School, will eventually be outfitted with video cameras and $30,000 worth of medical supplies, the cost of which is to be donated.

"Now we can get in and rescue people if a shooting breaks out," Florentino says. "We can drive up to the building, cram 30 kids in, and get them to safety." The MRAP could also transport paramedics safely to the scene of school disasters to set up casualty and triage centers, he adds.

The school district will also make the vehicle available to other local law-enforcement agencies on a shared basis for use during civil disturbances and other violent incidents, as well as natural disasters.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Next Article

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.