Police find partner on armored vehicle

Department can borrow it from Douglas County Sheriff’s Office

Longmont Police Chief Jeff Satur hopes the city’s public safety department never has to use an armored critical incident vehicle known as “the Rook,” but if it does, it’s one step closer to its plan after a Longmont City Council approval Tuesday night.

“Hope and having a plan are two different things. So, that’s what we’re preparing for … worstcase scenario,” Satur said in an interview Tuesday.

Longmont Public Safety officials plan to partner with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office to be able to use the Rook for serious incidents in the future. The Longmont City Council approved the partnering plan in its Tuesday meeting. Longmont Public Safety would not own the Rook but would have the ability to request it from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

At first glance, the roughly 14,000-pound vehicle looks like heavy equipment such as an excavator or a loader that one might find on a construction or demolition site. However, with its bullet-proof glass, wireless video cameras and an armored deployment platform that can rise up to 11 feet, the Rook is intended for particularly complex and dangerous operations. Other law enforcement agencies across the United States have used it.

“If we need it, it’ll be an extremely valuable tool that will save lives,” Satur said.

Satur recalled an incident in 2020 when the Rook may have come in handy after an individual, who was deemed dangerous, refused to comply with police orders and set off an explosive in a third-floor hotel room in Longmont.

The original partnership plan with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office was on a city council consent agenda. Longmont City Councilmember Marcia Martin pulled the resolution off of the consent agenda to make clear that the city, itself, was not purchasing the Rook but instead would just have access to it. While Martin was very complimentary of

Longmont Public Safety, she also acknowledged concerns about a militarygrade piece of equipment being used by a local police department.

“It looks like a cross between a tank … and a chess rook,” Martin said. “Whatever it is, it’s kind of a scary-looking device.”

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office bought the Rook after receiving a grant last year from the North Central Region of Urban Area Security Initiative. Grant recipients must make the equipment available to other agencies such as Longmont Public Safety. The Rook will remain in possssion of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office unless Longmont police request it for an operation.

Longmont Public Safety would be responsible for repairing any damage up to $500,000 incurred to the Rook during any operation in Longmont, according to a council memo.

The Rook costs between $426,900 and $560,000 and is sold by Ring Power Corp. in Florida.

“Our city has never scrimped on those lifesaving tools,” Satur said. “They are very good to us.”