The War on Terror Comes to Michigan?

Fellow Michigander, you might think Michigan's fairly safe when it comes to terrorism. Fourteen police departments in our state seem to disagree. They've put themselves on a list to get Mine Resistant Ambush Proof (MRAP) vehicles from the Defense Department.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

Fellow Michiganders, you might think Michigan's fairly safe when it comes to terrorism.

Fourteen police departments in our state seem to disagree. They've put themselves on a list to get Mine Resistant Ambush Proof (MRAP) vehicles from the Defense Department.

These are designed to withstand ambushes and attacks from IEDs, improvised explosive devices.

2016-01-18-1453122941-8335297-MRAP_Cat_1_navistar.jpg

Here's the list of agencies eager to defend against this violence:

Saginaw Police Department
Highland Park Police Department
Oakland County Sheriff
Wayne County Sheriff
Niles Police Department
Macomb County Sheriff
East Lansing Police Department
Genesee County Sheriff
Westland Police Department
Kalamazoo County Sheriff
St. Clair Shores Police Department
Battle Creek Police Department
Wyoming Police Department
Novi Police Department
Sterling Heights Police Department
Mt. Morris Township Police Department

If you don't recall ever reading or hearing a news story about mines, IEDs, or ambushes in any of these locales, don't blame your memory. Blame the facts.

Three possibilities: The cops want to play soldier. An MRAP is a "force multiplier" so it works as intimidation no matter how it's fielded. Or the agencies just want better rides on our lousy roads.

Lev Raphael's 25th book Assault With a Deadly Lie deals with out-of-control local police.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot