The University of California, Berkeley Police Department will not acquire an armored vehicle that it planned to procure using a federal grant, after campus administrators and city leaders nixed the plan.
U.C. Berkeley police, in partnership with the Berkeley and Albany city police, planned to purchase a Lenco BearCat vehicle to protect officers and civilians in situations involving hostages or active shooters, The Daily Californian reports. Community members, however, were concerned the vehicle would be used to intimidate protestors.
The three departments planned to share the vehicle, with the U.C.P.D. maintaining custody when it was not in use. In a statement Thursday, U.C. Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and Albany Mayor Farid Javendel said that the vehicle would not be "the best choice for a university setting."
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