The Walnut Creek City Council will decide tonight whether its police department can buy a new armored response vehicle for its bomb squad.
The police department received a Homeland Security Grant for the necessary $267,543, which will come as a re-imbursement once the city buys the truck. Any purchases over more than $85,000 must be approved by the council.
The grant goes to $303,804, allowing the department to buy advanced electronic diagnostic equipment, explosive safety equipment and specialized training.
The vehicle is a seriously modified 2022 Ford F-550, weighing 19,500 pounds and powered by a 6.7 liter, V8, power stroke, turbo-charged diesel engine. The city is buying the armored truck from Florida-based Emergency Vehicles, Inc.
Walnut Creek has the only bomb squad in Contra Costa County and provides investigation and disposal of explosive devices all over the region. According to a city staff report, the new vehicle would “allow the bomb squad to have two equally capable response vehicles, to improve response time and provide redundancy in the event a vehicle become inoperable.”
The report also says the city will establish a fund for the future replacement of the vehicle, with the amount based on the purchase price and prorated over its expected life. Ongoing cost of fuel and maintenance for the truck is estimated to be $1,500 annually.
23 comments
Didn’t know Walnut Creek was the hotbed of bomb making. It will look good at parades, impressive.
Ongoing cost of fuel and maintenance for the truck is estimated to be $1,500 annually.
wow thats obviously low and unrealistic what are they hiding
That’s less than an economy car driven by a little old lady.
On the other hand, since they will never actually use this toy…
The Walnut Creek bomb squad as requested from cities all over the area. They definitely should get the new vehicle. If you have a bomb threat in your area like at your school do you really want Walnut Creek responding with some antiquated equipment?
It’s not like they get multiple calls for bombs every day. Not to mention that this is a SECOND vehicle of this type, so just how often and how far do you think it will get driven. I guess that depends on whether it fits through the drive through at Wendy’s.
That’s because it’s hardly driven.
FYI, it’s not armored.
Concord CPD has one. What is the big deal?
Concord PD does NOT have a bomb squad. They have an old surplus armored rescue vehicle they received and refurbished with donations.
I hope they get a lot of bang for the buck!
Nowadays it is hard to tell what will be needed down the road. It’s money the government will waste somewhere else so why not.
Sounds like a waste of taxpayer money.
+1
Wait, I thought we were defunding the police.
CPD doesn’t have a Bomb Squad vehicle. They used to have a SWAT vehicle that was free, refurbished with donations, and was a complete POS.
And every agency in the county uses the WCPD Bomb Squad with any suspicious device. If they are not available, it’s UC Berkeley that gets the 2nd call.
It passed and is 100% funded through grants and replaces a 12 yer old vehicle at the end of its useful life. The grants could NOT be used for other purposes outside the police. If they didn’t take it, the money would go to another jurisdiction.
Walnut Creek sends its bomb squad personnel and equipment whenever Concord requests help with that sort of event. It would be wonderful if they bought a second unit!
How many calls has the Bomb Squad responded to in the past decade or so?
I seem to recall a few suspicious packages being blown up out of an abundance of caution, but how many actual bombs have they tended to?
I’m not trying to establish the need for a Bomb Squad, I’m just curious.
Being a former LEO, I am usually for such expenditures, not in this case.
It was a fluke that WC got a bomb squad, one guy years ago went to the right training and boom, pardon the pun, WC was the county bomb squad. This assignment belongs with the Office of the Sheriff, which has countywide emergency services responsibilities, by law.
108RS
@Jeff that sounds reasonable to me. Seems to me also that no Contra Costa city can justify having its own helicopter, but the county should have one or three. Same with marine units. And who runs that fancy airport fire truck? Is that under ConFire?
Why should WC police get this vehicle? Based on their actions related to protecting WC business and people the last year I’d bet they would just stand by a d let the bomb go off. They always seems to show up late then just shrug their shoulders.
@Reasonable. I understand the frustrated sentiment. I too, will make very pointed negative critiques of police when I think it is warranted. But with that liberty, I think also comes a responsibility to publicly recognize the police when they get it right.
I am still elated that our local law enforcement were able to arrest a suspect in the case of objects being thrown onto Hwy 242, killing one woman and half blinding another. I really hope they got the right guy. I think this was an absolutely horrific threat to public safety, and I wish it had gotten more press. I have been baffled that people even in near proximity to the situation had not heard of it.
Again, a huge thank you to the folks involved. My best understanding of the situation is that they may have had to develop a lead with very scant evidence. Thank you for your dedication and putting in the work. That’s what I call public service!
@Jeff that sounds reasonable to me. Seems to me also that no Contra Costa city can justify having its own helicopter, but the county should have one or three. Same with marine units. And who runs that fancy airport fire truck? Is that under ConFire?
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