Vanessa Junkin and Phil Davis

Wicomico County Sheriff Mike Lewis hopes he never has to use the agency's new armored vehicle.

Still, he's glad to have it.

"If we do, Wicomico County is now prepared," Lewis said.

The Wicomico County Sheriff's Office acquired the Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle through the Department of Defense's Law Enforcement Support Office program, or 1033 program, in May.

Fueled initially by the War on Drugs and expanded thanks to concerns over terrorist attacks, the surplus program has provided significant amounts of military equipment to police departments in small communities across America.

The spread of military vehicles, weapons and other gear has raised concerns about the militarization of police forces. The issue came to a head this week in light of the St. Louis County Police Department's response to protests in Ferguson, Missouri, following the police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

Images of officers sitting on top of armored vehicles with tactical rifles aimed at African-American protesters spawned debates on social media and in traditional media as to how much force a local police department should possess. More than 23,000 online users have signed a petition called "Stop the Militarization of Police in America Immediately," which calls for the end of the 1033 program.

Last year, more than $449.3 million worth of property was transferred to local and state police departments through the Defense Department's program. Virginia was the top recipient in 2013, receiving $51.5 million worth of property through the program.

Communities up and down the Delmarva peninsula have acquired equipment as well, but only Wicomico County has an MRAP.

New vehicle for the Shore

The Wicomico County Sheriff's Office's MRAP –– which weighs about 48,000 pounds empty –– is the first vehicle of its kind on the Eastern Shore.

Previously, the closest armored vehicle in use by a law-enforcement agency was the Maryland State Police Bearcat, which is kept in the Baltimore area, Lewis said.

The sheriff has wanted an armored vehicle for close to five years, but a January 2013 incident stepped up his interest. That month, a nearly 12-hour police standoff occurred when a Salisbury man barricaded himself inside his home on Dagsboro Road.

That was a situation when local law enforcement needed the state police Bearcat, but it would take hours for it to get to the scene, Lewis recalled. The man, 49-year-old Samuel Disharoon, wound up killing himself with a shotgun blast.

Lewis said the new vehicle could be used in the case of a mass shooting, an extrication or rescue, or a barricade situation. In situations like those, it would also be able to protect law enforcement officers, he said.

The MRAP is equipped with tough tires that have a honeycomb-like design inside, plates of armor and a cable in the front.

While the Sheriff's Office insignia still needs to be painted on the vehicle, Lewis said if an emergency were to happen, the team would be able to deploy now if needed.

A specialized team will run the MRAP, and those people would be able to assemble and deploy within 30 minutes, he said. He said the team would also be able to respond to any other jurisdiction needing the vehicle.

"If someone calls and needs it, we're going," he said.

The vehicle obtained by the Sheriff's Office was worth more than $1 million, including additional armament that was removed, and multiple spare tires. However, the Sheriff's Office was able to get the vehicle for free through the Department of Defense program.

"This is a million-dollar acquisition at no cost to the Wicomico County taxpayers," Lewis said.

There were costs of $5,846 to bring the vehicle to Salisbury from Texas, and about $7,500 for the vehicle to be painted solid green from the original desert sand camouflage at a local body shop, Lewis said. Those costs were funded through drug forfeiture money.

A machine gun turret was removed from the vehicle and left in Texas, Lewis said.

Lewis said his agency has gotten rifles through the 1033 program, as well.

Public view

Balancing what police perceive as necessary acquisitions to stop criminals with increasingly deadly weaponry and public perception of those acquisitions can be a difficult process, said Robert Harleston, University of Maryland Eastern Shore interim Criminal Justice Department chairman.

"It all has to do with the degree with which it's done," Harleston said. "The tendency may be since this equipment is available, why not take advantage of this and acquire it?"

But the issue goes beyond just acquiring the equipment, Harleston said.

Police departments don't often actively advertise when they acquire vehicles and equipment through the surplus program. As a result, it's often how citizens first see the equipment and vehicles being used in the community that frames their opinion of it, Harleston said.

"I think the relationship that exists between a police department and its community deals with what happens on a day-to-day basis as opposed to when a crisis arrives," Harleston said. "There's nothing wrong with having it if you need it. It's once they have it, should it be used in this particular case?"

A perception of law enforcement militarization is something Lewis said he's sensitive to. But there are some similarities between military organizations and law enforcement, he noted.

The Sheriff's Office, and law enforcement agencies in general, are quasi-military organizations, with the agency structure, ranks and command structure. Former military members are preferred as deputy candidates because of the discipline, structure and patriotism they bring, Lewis said.

Other local agencies have taken advantage of the program, too, the News Journal in Wilmington found.

In tiny Delmar alone, the haul has ranged from tarps and treadmills to trailers and cargo trucks — all told, surplus military gear that originally cost the government $1.59 million. That doesn't include any tactical equipment, such as rifles, that the department may have received since 2011 because the details on such gear are not public, officials say.

Vetting

There's a vetting process for agencies hoping to gain items through the Law Enforcement Support Office program.

Defense Logistics Agency spokeswoman Mimi Schirmacher wrote Friday in an email that requests for property –– ranging from office equipment to clothing to aircraft –– are screened at the law enforcement agency, then by a state coordinator and last by the Law Enforcement Support Office.

She wrote that law enforcement agencies receiving items are responsible for the costs of shipping, maintenance and repairs, and for training personnel.

Congress authorized the program in connection with counter-drug activities for 1990-1991, and expanded it for purposes including counter-terrorism activities for 1996-1997, Schirmacher wrote.

In the case of MRAPs, Schirmacher wrote:

"Criteria include justification for use of the vehicle, such as in response to active shooter incidents, SWAT, and drug interdiction; geographical area and multi-jurisdiction use; ability of the agency to pay for repairs and maintenance of the vehicle; and security and restricted access to the vehicle.

MRAPs being issued to law enforcement agencies have been declared as excess by the military. It is prudent to allow law enforcement agencies to use MRAPs versus scrapping them or allowing them to sit in storage if a military service does not need the excess vehicles."

For Lewis, having the MRAP brings some peace of mind.

"This is long overdue," he said.

William H. McMichael of the Wilmington News Journal contributed to this report.