Bearcat tested in first month

It's only been here for a little more than a month, but the Bearcat, Waukesha County's new armored vehicle, has already seen plenty of action.

The vehicle was delivered to the county in late October, but before its official introduction to the public duty called.

It was summoned by the Waukesha Police Department when there were reports of a man at the Stop-N-Go gas station at the corner of St. Paul and South Washington avenues sitting in his car for an extended period of time with a handgun on his lap.

"We arrived not knowing whether he was there to rob the place, commit suicide or commit some other crime, so we put the Bearcat into action," said Capt. Ron Oremus of the Waukesha Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division.

And when the suspect tried to flee the scene, he was blocked by members of the Tactical Unit and armored vehicles from the Waukesha Police Department and Waukesha County Sheriff's Department, including the Bearcat.

After the man was taken into custody, a .40 caliber Smith and Wesson firearm, a facsimile firearm, along with shotgun shells, .22 caliber shells, 9mm shells and open intoxicants were found in the vehicle.

This is the kind of situation in which the Bearcat can be put to use.

"We're not afraid to make that phone call (to the Sheriff's Department) if there is a dangerous situation," Oremus said.

They made this call once again on Nov. 29 during another dangerous situation in a Waukesha neighborhood.

The Milwaukee County Bomb Squad was also called to the scene in which a man eventually shot himself in the chest with what Waukesha police called a "Civil War-style replica gun" and subsequently dropped a package that contained an improvised explosive device on the sidewalk of the 800 block of Manor Drive.

Oremus said the Bearcat was used in this instance because of the danger in this crime scene.

He added that police weren't initially sure if the man, who was later identified as Chad Cross, had indeed dropped an IED. They took no chances and brought in the Bearcat.

"It was the only way for our officers to get close enough to get a better look on him while staying safe," Oremus said.

After the 35-year-old man fell to the ground following his self-inflicted wound, the Bearcat - which stands for Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck - was used to help guide the robot, which was brought in by the Bomb Squad, to the IED. The robot eventually disabled the device with the use of special munitions.

The Bearcat, which can withstand bullet shots, has replaced the Peacekeeper, a 1980 military vehicle the department used for tactical situations. The Waukesha County Sheriff's Department is also offering it to other municipalities and other area counties.

Oremus said he has already seen the benefits from using this vehicle.

"It's something we can use so law enforcement can be brought into service quickly with enough protection, which isn't always easy," Oremus said. "It makes the operations run more smoothly."

Oremus said the Bearcat will primarily be called into use when there could be a serious level of threat to officers (like in its first two incidents) or even in a high-risk search warrant.

The Bearcat cost $260,000 with $200,000 coming from federal funding and the remaining covered by seized property funds.

Regardless of the cost, Oremus knows it has been a wise investment.

"Absolutely," he said. "It's worth every penny if it can save lives."