Buckeye City Council members during an Aug. 6 meeting accepted a $350,000 grant award to secure a new armored rescue vehicle for Buckeye Police Department.
The grant is provided through the Arizona Department of Homeland Security and will allow for a cooperative purchase contract through Lenco Industries. The city will contribute about $60,000 of the cost, which was budgeted for Fiscal Year 2025.
“Once we receive the new armored vehicle, it will become our primary armored vehicle for responding to calls involving armed barricaded subjects,” wrote BPD Public Information Officer Carissa Planalp in an email to InBuckeye. “The vehicle the department currently uses is smaller and outdated with occasional mechanical issues. It will be ultimately be designated as a backup.”
The current vehicle is about 15 years old, according to the council agenda item. The new Lenco truck will be fitted with “state-of-the-art technology to meet today’s tactical needs and increase responder rescue, medical and public safety efforts on all high-risk calls.”
InBuckeye asked Police Chief Bob Sanders to provide more information about the new and old vehicles and additional details about the grant and its use. However, Sanders, through Planalp, stated that he and anyone else at BPD is refusing to conduct press interviews indefinitely. InBuckeye was referred to the city council agenda.
