Military Gives Coffeyille Police Department An Armored Truck

The Coffeyville Police Department now owns a 2007 BAE Caiman MRAP armored vehicle.

Police Chief Tony Celeste says his department received the demilitarized vehicle thanks to the Department of Defense's Military Surplus Program. He says the truck was used to protect U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Celeste says the city of Coffeyville got it at essentially no cost, other than nominal transportation expenses.

In a news release, Celeste said he hoped the police department would never have to use it, but should an event like an active shooter incident occur, the armored truck could be critical in saving police and civilian lives.

Celeste says the department was notified it would be getting the BAE Caiman MRAP armored truck, after a September 23 incident which required the use of a Kansas Bureau of Investigation armored vehicle. He says the timing was a coincidence.