Police purchase of armored truck sparks debate | Indiana Daily Student
...The City of Bloomington has signed the contracts for a controversial purchase: a new $225,000 armored vehicle for the Bloomington Police Department.
The announcement came from BPD Police Chief Mike Diekhoff last week during a news conference and has raised concerns of police militarization from some members of the community.
BPD sent out a press release Monday and organized a public discussion of the Critical Incident Response Team, or CIRT, vehicle Tuesday trying to address some of these worries.
Every chair in the BPD Headquarters training room was full Tuesday, and many more people stood in its entrance. The crowd was a mix of media, government representatives and community members.
As the cameras focused on Diekhoff, the first question came: has this vehicle already been purchased?
The answer: yes. It will be delivered in 2018. The deal will not be renegotiated.
“I’m just really disappointed that this wasn’t more of a community process,” Bloomington resident Vauhxx Booker, 34, said...
...The City of Bloomington has signed the contracts for a controversial purchase: a new $225,000 armored vehicle for the Bloomington Police Department.
The announcement came from BPD Police Chief Mike Diekhoff last week during a news conference and has raised concerns of police militarization from some members of the community.
BPD sent out a press release Monday and organized a public discussion of the Critical Incident Response Team, or CIRT, vehicle Tuesday trying to address some of these worries.
Every chair in the BPD Headquarters training room was full Tuesday, and many more people stood in its entrance. The crowd was a mix of media, government representatives and community members.
As the cameras focused on Diekhoff, the first question came: has this vehicle already been purchased?
The answer: yes. It will be delivered in 2018. The deal will not be renegotiated.
“I’m just really disappointed that this wasn’t more of a community process,” Bloomington resident Vauhxx Booker, 34, said...