BATTLE CREEK, Mich. –
Once again, a former military armored vehicle protected the lives of police officers responding to an active shooter, this time in Paris, Texas.
According to Lt. Doug Murphy of the Paris Police Department Criminal Investigative Division, the department’s SWAT members and its Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected vehicle – on loan through the Defense Logistics Agency’s Law Enforcement Support Office – responded to a June 16 late night call for assistance with a barricaded suspect.
Murphy said one responding officer had already been shot in the leg before the gunman retreated into a residence, firing high-powered rifles, shotguns and handguns and striking both a constable and patrol unit vehicle.
The MRAP allowed the response team to safely approach the residence and provided some additional barrier from bullets for surrounding residences and businesses. Murphy said the vehicle took at least 30 rounds with the team inside, but it performed well, needing only replacement mirrors, spotlights, one window and a gallon or two of touch-up paint.
“This would not have been possible without the use of the MRAP, and it’s protection is, in my opinion, priceless,” Murphy said. “It kept my guys safe, simple as that.”
Murphy said the wounded officer received care for their injuries and the besieged gunman took his own life.
DLA Disposition Services and LESO regularly receive field stories and notes of appreciation from among 8,000+ participating qualified law enforcement agencies who rely on DLA for used vehicles, equipment and supplies to help augment budget shortfalls. MRAPs and other former military armored transports are regularly lent to agencies, where they are used both for protecting officers and for disaster and emergency response events like high-water rescues during hurricanes or flash flooding.
Through LESO, DLA avoids costly equipment destruction costs and ensures taxpayers receive maximum return from items that may still have operational value but have become excess or obsolete for military purposes. Armored vehicles like MRAPs are demilitarization-required, meaning when qualified reuse recipients no longer have a need for them, they must be returned to DLA and destroyed.