MANSFIELD — It’s a considerable public safety investment local law enforcement units hope doesn’t need to be used.
But it’s an invaluable tool in the toolbox when it rolls out of the garage, according to Mansfield Safety Services Director Keith Porch, the city’s former police chief.
A new $392,539 BearCat armored rescue vehicle — primarily to be used by the countywide Allied Special Operations Response Team — has arrived for duty.
BearCats are typically used to transport tactical teams, i.e. SWAT, to and from hostile situations and to assist with the recovery and protection of civilians in harm’s way during terrorist threats, hostage incidents, or encounters with large gatherings of aggressors.
Porch and MPD Sgt. Patrick Williams on Tuesday evening showed the new vehicle to members of Mansfield City Council before local lawmakers gathered upstairs for their caucus and legislative session.
“It has the same types of protection offered by our old BearCat,” Williams told council members who gathered inside the bulletproof vehicle.
“This will withstand small arms fire, 5.56 assault rifle rounds (AR-15), 7.62 (AK-47) and .50-caliber machine gun fire.
“It will take multiple hits, but (with) straight-on shots, the manufacturer recommends to start to move and reposition to get to get a better tactical advantage in the instances that we’re receiving machine-gun fire,” Williams said.
He said the bottom of the vehicle also offers some protection from explosives.
“That, and us being a little higher (off the ground) is a little better than what we had before,” Williams said.
The vehicle also has an improved interior with multiple USB ports and electrical outlets that Williams said could prove invaluable during prolonged operations.
It also has a cupola on top that is far easier to turn and use than in the older model, he said.
The vehicle features a breaching arm that can break through doors and walls, also offering the option of inserting chemical agents, i.e. teargas, into the building when needed.
(Below are photos of the new $392,539 Mansfield Police Department BearCat armored SWAT vehicle that was purchased through the combined efforts of the cities of Mansfield, Ontario, Shelby and the Richland County Sheriff’s Office. The story continues below the photos.)
Built on a Ford F-5550 chassis, the heavily armored vehicle can transport up to 12 tactical officers to a scene — and keep them safe inside until it’s time to exit.
The four-door Lenco BearCat was purchased and ordered in 2023 through the combined financial efforts of the City of Mansfield, Richland County Board of Commissioners and the Richland County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Ontario and the City of Shelby.
The new vehicle replaces a BearCat the city purchased in 2007, a tool Porch said changed local SWAT operations.
“(It made it) much safer in the way operations are handled when we have those vehicles and are able to utilize them,” he said.
Porch recalled a 2007 incident in which an off-duty city police officer was shot and killed while trying to provide medical assistance to a wounded man, who also died.
“During that incident, it was troubling as the SWAT team was on (the) premises and could not get to them to get them out of the hot zone, to get them to safety, to render medical aid,” he has said.
“From that horrible incident it led to the discussion that an armored vehicle was needed for our multi-jurisdictional SWAT team,” Porch said earlier.
He said in 2023 that the current BearCat has been “phenomenal” for area law enforcement officers.
“I can stand and say for every law enforcement officer in this room, since that BearcCat arrived, it changed SWAT operations for the better. It has absolutely, in my opinion, saved SWAT officers’ lives.
“That vehicle’s probably been shot … over 20 times in the different incidents that it’s been involved in. Every time the SWAT team is put into operation, that vehicle is also put into operation. So it has definitely changed the way tactics have been done in the SWAT realm,” Porch said.
“The (BearCat) vehicle has been deployed in every jurisdiction within this county.”
The Richland County Sheriff’s Office is paying about $50,000 for the older BearCat, which Porch said would keep it in the county for future use.