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| (Washington IA's MRAP) |
Attention citizens of Iowa City....yes, you are a "city" of only 7,000, with several thou seasonal students, but your police force recently acquired a TANK from the feds to keep you in line. Funny, that a traditionally liberal enclave of intellectual loons would see or need such a thing, but you got it. CONGRATULATIONS!...The entire message left me scratching my head, given that our population is roughly 70,000 with our students -- and not even remotely that low during the times when the UI students leave due to Winter Break, Spring Break, and Summer.
But I was really curious about the tank. I wasn't aware that Iowa City now has its own tank.
Fortunately, another Craiglister posted this message and filled in a few more details:
Washington, Iowa, a town with a population of 7,000, has an MRAP. It was reported by the Daily Iowan, a UI student-run paper in Iowa City, and subsequently picked up by InfoWars, which is where I am guessing you got your information...That cleared things up a bit more. Washington, IA, is a smaller community about 30 miles south of Iowa City. I worked there for about a year right out of college, but haven't been back since 1996 or so. It's hardly a "liberal enclave." Both Washington, IA, and Washington County are known for being Republican-dominated communities.
My curiosity continued to escalate, so I did some searches and found the Daily Iowan article in question, which ended up being an editorial piece. I decided to dig around a little more and found this article from early last month:
Washington Police will be getting an armored vehicle that's typically used by the U.S. military.According to this Des Moines Register article, that Washington, IA, has received its MRAP.
Tuesday night (Jon's note: March 4, 2014), in a four to one decision, the Washington City Council approved Police Chief Greg Goodman's request for a "demilitarized" MRAP or Mine Resistant Ambush Protected troop transport. The MRAP police will be getting is missing the weapons turret, other military hardware and electronics. Officials said it’s essentially a big armored truck.
MRAPs typically cost about $500,000. Washington Police are getting theirs for free under a U.S. Defense Department program that gives surplus military equipment to law enforcement. Washington Police said the only cost will be the transportation fee to bring vehicle up from Texas.
Chief Goodman calls the MRAP a big win for his officers’ safety. “Is it going to be used a lot? No. I don't anticipate that at all. But, it really only takes once to make it worth its while,” said Goodman.
Goodman said while some in Washington worry the MRAP will militarize his 11-officer department, that’s not the case. He said the vehicle will be used in special circumstances such as active shooters.
In case you think that Washington is unique, it's not the only community in Iowa to have it's own MRAP. Mason City and Storm Lake both have MRAP. So do the sheriff departments in Buena Vista, Jasper, Scott, and Story Counties.
So there you go. I learned today that Iowa City does NOT have a tank, but Washington, IA, has an MRAP.