Windsor Police Unveil Military “Armored Tactical Rescue” Vehicle

By: Trevor Wilhelm
windsorstar.com

Windsor police unveiled their new armoured tactical vehicle on Friday – don’t call it a tank, they hate that — stressing it will only be used in very specific cases.

Essentially, police said they will use it in rare, extreme “critical” response and rescue situations, and perhaps the odd parade.

“It’s an armoured box that we’re going to use to rescue people should something really bad happen,” said Const. John Nayduk, a former military man now in charge of training other officers to drive the vehicle.

“Maybe we’re not going to need it for a couple years, but the one time we do, we’re going to be very glad we have it.”

The Windsor Police Service received its Tactical Rescue Vehicle (TRV) in April 2013. It’s a Cougar model, the kind used in United Nations missions for protection and convoy escorts in Somalia and Yugoslavia.

It’s worth between $300,000 and $400,000. But the military gave police the decommissioned vehicle, built in 1978, for $1. Chief Al Frederick said Windsor is following suit with most other large police forces in Ontario which have had similar vehicles for several years.

Since receiving it, Windsor police spent about $13,000 to “up-fit” the six-wheeled, 10-ton vehicle for their use. That up-fit included lighting, police badging, tires and emergency equipment. It was also disarmed.

By comparison, Frederick said it costs about $40,000 to get one stripped down cruiser ready for police use.

A dozen officers will be qualified to drive the TRV, which has a top speed of 100 km/h. They only need a G licence, but they are receiving extensive training this week.

Frederick said the main purpose of the vehicle will be to protect officers and the public from rare, high-risk threats such as an active shooter or barricaded gunman.
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