Virginia Town of 8,638 Now Has Its Own Police MRAP

Franklin, Virginia, a community with a population of 8,638, now has its own mine resistant vehicle.  It is one the more than 100 localities in the commonwealth receiving surplus military equipment through the U.S. Department of Defense Excess Property Program.

Police departments across the US are stocking up on grenade launchers, night vision goggles and armored vehicles.

The Lewiston, Maine police department unveiled the MARCbot IV, or Multi-Functional Agile Remote Controlled Robot, fresh from the U.S. Army and complete with an Xbox controller.
lewiston mrap
The vehicle and the robot were free to the LPD from the Obama administration as a reallocation of military surplus.

The Franklin police chief defended the purchase of the city’s first MRAP.
Watchdog.com reported:

Not too far from Hampton Roads and just nine miles north of the North Carolina border, the rural city of Franklin, Va., is home to farmland, 8,638 people and one military-grade, mine-resistant vehicle.

The police force is of one of the smallest among the more than 100 localities in the commonwealth receiving surplus military equipment through the U.S. Department of Defense Excess Property Program.

Over the past couple of decades, more than 100 local police agencies in the commonwealth have gotten hold of combat gear the military no longer needs, from grenade launchers to riot gear to rifles to an MRAP.

Franklin City Police Chief Phil Hardison said he’s well aware of people’s concerns and the discussions of the militarization of police — but the safety of residents and his 30 well-trained officers is his primary concern.

“I understand there’s been a lot of discussion across the country, a fair amount of criticism against these vehicles, but local and state law enforcement are citizens’ first line of defense,” he said. “… There’s a high probability that they (people who criticize the program) have never been engaged in events that have the capacity and the ability to be immediately life-threatening to them or members of the community that they are responsible for providing safety.”

It goes beyond equipment.
police camo
Police departments across the nation are recruiting potential officers to dress in complete Ghillie grass camo suits for special operations.

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Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016. In 2023, The Gateway Pundit received the Most Trusted Print Media Award at the American Liberty Awards.

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