Lang
7/24/21
The Iowa City city council will discuss the city’s police department’s use of an armored transport owned by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.
The agenda for Tuesday’s work session indicates the council will hear from Police Chief Dustin Liston about how the Iowa City Police Department uses the vehicle, how often its services are required, and what, if any, alternative vehicles the city could purchase to replace the Mine Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicle, or MRAP. Local law enforcement’s use of the vehicle has come under fire over the last year by the Iowa Freedom Riders and other Black Lives Matter groups.
The sheriff’s office acquired the vehicle for free in 2014 under a federal program that distributes military equipment to local law enforcement agencies. Liston wrote in a memo to the council that his department has used the MRAP seven times since it was acquired. While the vehicle is owned by the sheriff’s office, other local law enforcement is also allowed access, when deemed necessary. It can carry up to ten people, plus two on stretchers, if necessary. It has no offensive capabilities.
The MRAP has been used as cover when law enforcement officers have confronted active shooters. It has also rescued residents from flooding.
Critics argue using a military vehicle for civilian law enforcement militarizes the police, and that it traumatizes residents who see it in their neighborhoods.
The council discussed asking the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to get rid of the vehicle last year, but county officials balked at the proposal.
Tuesday’s work session is set for 4pm at the Senior Center on South Linn Street.