Cops Buy $1 Million MRAP Vehicle Intended For Iraq And Afghanistan War, Claim ‘America Has Become A War Zone’

Eyebrows might raise a little at the prospect of a sheriff’s office purchasing a million dollar MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protection) vehicle for usage in the United States, but you have to wonder what is going on if these same cops claim “America has become a war zone.”

In a related report by The Inquisitr, a baby MRAP is a smaller version of the full size version that was just purchased and costs a whole lot less to build. Speaking of cost, even though the end of the Afghanistan war was announced by President Obama, he’d still like to keep about 10,000 soldiers stationed there for years to come and it’s possible the open warfare in Iraq may effect us in the long run. You might also be surprised that even if you exclude the military expenses, the cost of rebuilding Afghanistan will be $15 billion in 2014 alone and $6 to $10 billion per year.

Klamath County Sheriff’s Office believes that the $5,000 it paid for the MRAP was quite a steal. And it was considering the MRAP already served in the Afghanistan war and was destined to gather dust as military surplus according to Sheriff Doug Cox, who acquired the vehicle:

“I think us having (the MRAP) in that barn is much better than the federal government leaving it rusting on a cement slab somewhere in Texas or Virginia or wherever these may be sitting.”

The MRAP is about 10 feet tall, can go around 65 miles per hour, and its most important function is that it can stop bullets in their tracks. The local police believe the usage of a military vehicle inside the United States is justified because the MRAP can be used in situations where people need to be rescued or where bullets are flying.

But Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA) believes that using a military vehicle on American soil against citizens can never be justified:

“Americans should… be concerned unless they want their main streets patrolled in ways that mirror a war zone. We recognize that we’re not in Kansas anymore, but are MRAPs really needed in small-town America?”

Pulaski County Sheriff Michael Gayer believes that comparing the Iraq and Afghanistan war is actually a good comparison:

“The United States of America has become a war zone. There’s violence in the workplace, there’s violence in schools and there’s violence in the streets. You are seeing police departments going to a semi-military format because of the threats we have to counteract. If driving a military vehicle is going to protect officers, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

Do you think police departments should be buying military vehicles like the MRAP?