Sheriff: BearCat better fit for department

COEUR d'ALENE - Sheriff Ben Wolfinger explained the reason why his office purchased an expensive armored tactical vehicle when a nearby police agency has a similar truck his department can borrow.

The BearCat - an acronym for Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter-Attack Truck - is a better fit for his department's planned use of the vehicle, Wolfinger said.

On Tuesday, the BearCat arrived at the sheriff's office. Its $335,000 cost was paid with drug forfeiture funds.

The Post Falls Police Department has its own ballistic vehicle, the MaxxPro Plus, which was obtained for free under a federal program.

But it's the differences between the two vehicles, according to Wolfinger, that justify his office's decision to acquire the BearCat.

"What Post Falls got was a military surplus vehicle," Wolfinger said Friday. "We looked at it (the MaxxPro Plus) and didn't think it met our needs. The BearCat is a civilian vehicle, made in America, that is built specifically for law enforcement agencies."

The difference in size between the two vehicles, with the BearCat being "much smaller and lighter," was one of the primary concerns for the sheriff's office. Since the BearCat is more easily able to navigate smaller roads in less-densely populated areas of the county, it was the logical choice, Wolfinger said.

Wolfinger added that the vehicle is a regional asset because it will primarily be used by the county's SWAT team, with membership comprising personnel from both the sheriff's office and Coeur d'Alene Police Department.

"We face greater and greater threats every time we go out," Wolfinger said. "When I started in law enforcement 30 years ago, crooks weren't armed with semi-automatic weapons and weren't willing to just fire at law enforcement indiscriminately - that just didn't happen. My goal is to finish my career and not have a single one of my guys be seriously injured or killed. It's (the acquisition of the BearCat) about safety."