Oxnard-- Councilman Bert Perello pulled an item off the consent agenda during the Tuesday, February 6, meeting, which approved the purchase and use of a mobile command vehicle as military equipment as defined by the Government Code.
HE said there was much talk happening across Social Media and understands the purchase involves a lot of money.
“There are homes going for less and more than this,” he said. “Nothing that was purchased 20 years ago is less today.”
He noted an individual who took an emergency hospital trip, and $200,000 was spent quickly.
“There are people complaining that in this day and age, we are Militarizing the Police Department, and I respect their views,” he said. “I want to give the Police Department the opportunity to explain what this vehicle is. In my opinion, this is not an armored tank that will go into some place and destroy something. This is something to support the men and women of the Police Department, the residents of the City of Oxnard, and potentially others depending on the type of natural disaster we had.”
Oxnard Police Department Special Operations Commander Tim Kelly said it is expensive, but the Department needs the vehicle.
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