Rance Burger

RBURGER@NEWS-LEADER.COM

OZARK – Christian County Sheriff Joey Kyle invited some of his “harshest critics” to inspect a newly-acquired vehicle after concerned citizens called the courthouse to ask why a truck suitable for combat in Iraq rolled through the streets of Nixa and Ozark.

The sheriff’s office acquired a surplus BAE Caiman armored truck that the U.S. Department of Defense declared surplus property in November. The truck is known in U.S. military vocabulary as an MRAP, or mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle.

“It’s defensive, it’s not offensive,” Kyle said.

The U.S. Army removed mounted guns from the vehicle before turning it over to the sheriff.

Kyle says the truck will be used in the event of a mass shooting or crisis situation.

“In the case of some kind of an armed incursion where some assailants were actively putting rounds downrange, we would use this vehicle to get innocents out of the line of fire and take officers into the line of fire to have them respond,” Kyle said.

The sheriff says his office acquired the vehicle free of charge. In November, Kyle and Maj. Rod Wells drove to Fort Riley, Kan. to pick up the truck and drive it to Ozark. Kyle estimates it cost $500 to transport the truck to Christian County. He insists it’s a “no strings attached” acquisition.

“There’s two pieces of paper; one of them I signed that acknowledges receipt, another one that says, ‘it’s now yours,’” Kyle said.

The truck got decals identifying it as property of the Christian County Sheriff’s Office in April.

“I thought a lot about accepting a vehicle like this before getting it,” Kyle said.

Kyle likens having the truck as an option for deputies to use to a homeowner obtaining a concealed weapons permit and a handgun to protect his or her family should a home invasion occur.

“You’ve been seeing this a lot in the last year or two about the militarization of local law enforcement. What is that?” Kyle said. “It’s a mindset; it’s a culture. I could take a six-gun and a horse and effect the same operations as I can with any amount of hardware that you’ve got. Hardware — it’s a tool. Your mind is the weapon.”

The sheriff says any law enforcement agency is a paramilitary organization.

“We have a rank structure, we have a top-to-bottom chain of command — that’s how it’s designed,” Kyle said.

The 6-wheel drive vehicle weighs 27,000 pounds and has 4,800 miles on its engine and transmission. The sheriff says it is worth about $250,000.

About six deputies have the military driving experience sufficient enough to safely operate the truck.

The sheriff believes there is a local mechanic in Springfield with experience working on modern military vehicles.

Kyle says maintenance costs on the truck will be affordable for his office.

“I figure probably $1,000 a year, but it just depends on how much it’s operated,” Kyle said.

The sheriff’s office receives periodic notices from the Department of Defense on what sort of surplus property is available to state and local governments. Kyle says the items available range from office furniture and computers to vehicle parts to fully operational vehicles.