New addition to the force

Lauren Vane

The Huntington Beach Police Department has a new member on the squad.

The latest addition to the force stands 13 feet tall, weighs 15

tons and comes prepared to take on just about anything.

Appropriately named BEAR -- ballistic engineered armored response

-- this tank of a truck is a specially designed SWAT vehicle that

arrived in Huntington Beach several weeks ago. Huntington Beach is

among a handful of cities selected to receive the vehicle as part of

a county-wide grant from the Department of Homeland Security.

A towering mass of metal parked in a stall at a city facility, the

BEAR dwarfs every other car in the lot. Everything about this

four-wheel-drive vehicle is sturdy; it takes a strong arm just to

open and shut the door.

“Physically, it’s just intimidating,” said Lt. Craig Junginger.

The truck can carry up to 12 people and is equipped with ports

that allow the SWAT team to shoot from the inside.

Though some specifics of BEAR’s capabilities must remain

confidential, police will say the truck is geared to tackle a variety

of emergencies.

“It helps us better handle situations involving domestic

terrorism,” Junginger said.

Most of all, BEAR is here to protect city residents, Junginger

said. BEAR is housed in Huntington Beach, but as part of the grant,

is available for use by neighboring cities, Junginger said.

“People see this driving down the street and it’s just that added

sense of security,” Junginger said.

As the fourth largest city in the county, Huntington Beach was an

appropriate choice to receive BEAR, Junginger said.

BEAR has already been put to use in one incident, a shooting

outside a convenience store July 21. It will be used in situations

that pose a danger to officers, such as hostage rescues or incidents

when suspects are armed, Junginger said.

The SWAT team is typically called out on 15 to 20 calls each year

and could potentially use BEAR each time they go out.

“This is another one of those pieces of equipment that allows us

to protect the community better,” Junginger said.

The new SWAT truck replaces an older armored car previously used

by the police department, Junginger said.

BEAR is manufactured by Lenco, a company that designs armored

trucks for the U.S. military and for law enforcement agencies.

Ordering an armored truck is a lot like buying a regular car, said

Jim Massery, director of government sales at Lenco.

“It’s very similar to going into a car dealership and seeing

what’s available for options,” Massery said.

BEAR is Lenco’s largest truck and is made to order according to an

agency’s specific needs, Massery said.

* LAUREN VANE covers public safety. She can be reached at (714)

966-4618 or [email protected].