By ROBERT BITTING

Warsaw Police Department Captain Bryan Sherwin spoke at the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety meeting today to appeal the city officials on behalf of the department’s acquisition of a Humvee.

The Humvee would be obtained through the Law Enforcement Support Office and the Department of Defense programs which allows for the transfer of excess or out-of-use military equipment to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Sherwin said these programs were used in the past to obtain firearms for the WPD at no cost to the city.

According to the information provided, WPD received information that a four-door High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (Humvee) is available through the DoD program in Jefferson City, Mo. The vehicle would be obtained at no cost to the city.

The only expenses involved with the vehicle would be the acquisition of new radio and emergency equipment for the vehicle which is estimated to be approximately $2,000. Travel and transportation expenses will also exist, but are yet to be determined.

Sherwin said the Humvee would be used locally for bad weather situations such as clearing fallen trees and flooding. It would also be used for S.W.A.T. call-outs and training and carrying items to and from the WPD’s outdoor range.

Sherwin stated that if local police departments didn’t take advantage of these military programs the military would scrap these vehicles and weapons.

A verbal request was put forth to the city council for the police department to put a hold on this vehicle last week as the deadline was Sept. 4. Having received the mayor’s verbal authorization, the hold was put on the vehicle and the B.O.W. – consisting of Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer, Charlie Smith and Jeff Grose – approved the acquisition of the Humvee at the meeting today.