TRENTON – City police is getting a new, fancy little toy.
The city plans to spend more than $76,000 on a special operations vehicle for the department.
City council must approve the expenditure after the city received bids from three companies for the war machine that will be deployed on Trenton’s streets.
The lowest bidder was Youngsville, North Carolina-based Sirchie Acquisition Company which came in at $76,150.
TechOps Specialty Vehicles bid $97,782 and Chas S. Winner Inc. demanded $98,108 to purchase and outfit the vehicle for the city police department.
The city department detailed the specifications for the special ops vehicle in bid documents.
The heavy-duty vehicle has to be built and engineered to “transport a Critical Incident Response Team in full tactical gear,” the bid documents state, including space for overhead storage and the ability to outfit with police radio equipment.
Former acting city police director Chris Doyle’s name appears on the bid documents.
City police officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the necessity of the vehicle or how they plan to deploy it if the purchase if approved by the legislative body.
At least one council member says he has concerns about adding such a vehicle to the city’s fleet, feeling it could add to a growing perception among citizens fearful of the increasing militarization of the city’s police force, especially in urban areas.
City police union president Michael Schiaretti did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment on how the rank-and-file feels about the purchase.
