BearCat armored vehicle joins Saginaw Police Department fleet

SAGINAW, MI — A large-scale rescue vehicle has joined the Saginaw Police Department’s fleet, one its officers say will help safeguard the public from disasters, natural and otherwise.

“It’s to keep the public safe and to keep police officers safe,” Deputy Chief Matthew Gerow said of the Lenco Industries-manufactured BearCat, a backronym for Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck.

Officer Julian Guevara spearheaded the effort to acquire the vehicle and has been working on it since 2021. His efforts bore fruit when the vehicle arrived earlier this month.

“The real need was for situations of natural disasters, active shooters, and officer rescues,” Guevara said. When those situations arise anywhere in Saginaw County, the BearCat will deploy to assist.

Gerow referenced the devastation wrought by recent hurricanes and how rescue footage from those regions show emergency personnel using such vehicles to rescue imperiled civilians. Saginaw’s BearCat is a tall model able to be driven into high water levels, Guevara added.

The BearCat is outfitted with ram posts that can attach to its front and be used to punch holes in brick or stone walls. Police employed such a tactic to breach the walls of Orlando’s Pulse nightclub during a June 2016 mass shooting.

The vehicle can hold 12 officer operators and about 20 civilians, Guevara added.

The Saginaw City Council in September 2023 approved the purchase of the BearCat for $281,814. Of that, $75,000 came from Homeland Security grants, while the rest was supplied by private donors.

The department is unveiling the BearCat to the public during the We Love Saginaw Businesses Trunk or Treat from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 23, in the parking lot of the Splash Pad at Celebration Park, 1830 Fordney St.