Southampton Chief Defends Decision To Purchase New Armored Vehicle for Town Police

Southampton Town Police Chief James Kiernan defended his department’s request for the town to purchase a BearCat armored truck as a necessary tool of the department’s tactical team.

It currently relies on a 1982 Dodge “Peacekeeper” armored truck, a hand-me-down military surplus vehicle that was used by Suffolk County for years before it was given to the town.

Supervisor Maria Moore’s 2026 budget includes up to $400,000 for the purchase of a Lenco BearCat, the modern armored vehicle of choice for police departments across the county.

But the truck has been the center of a nationwide debate about the “militarization” of police departments everywhere, because of its sometimes imposing appearance when outfitted with various tactical equipment and heavy armor protections.

The BearCat is just a large, go-anywhere vehicle, Kiernan said, that gives off the militaristic aura to the layman because it is armored — like military vehicles are, for the same reasons.

Kiernan said he was sensitive to the militarization sentiment and agrees that a BearCat can look like something built for a war. But he said the town must draw the line when it comes to the safety of officers and those they are trying to protect in the era of mass shootings.

The region’s generally low level of crime does not make it immune from dangerous situations or tragedy, he said.

“There simply is no way to make a safe armored vehicle appear less military-like,” Kiernan said. “When they start making armored vehicles look like campers, I will try to get one. But for now, to protect those members of the department during high-risk missions and our crisis negotiators that sometimes must be brought within earshot of folks in crisis, they need to be protected in what is available and safest. Simply hiding behind a shield does not provide the level of safety I am willing to accept.”

Town Police, he said, respond to up to 10 “barricaded subject” calls — when a person has barricaded themselves in a house or building and refuses to come out, surrender or communicate with police — that almost all have to be treated as though they are armed and dangerous to officers or the public.

The town’s officers also participate in an inter-municipal Emergency Services Unit — the equivalent of a city’s SWAT team — with officers from Southampton Village, Quogue and Westhampton Beach’s police departments, which conducts search warrant raids at homes or structures being used for drug sales, or where someone wanted on criminal charges may be hiding out.

“We execute several high-risk search warrants every year. STPD is one of only two federally and state accredited tactical teams in Suffolk County, with SCPD having the other,” Kiernan said. “They train hard to be the safest and best in the state and they deserve the best protection available to carry out their life-protecting missions.”

The East Hampton Town Police Department purchased a BearCat — a version outfitted to double as an ambulance in emergencies, called a MedCat — in 2019 with an anonymous donation from a member of the public.

Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore said she does not see the BearCat as a “weapon of war,” as she said some have suggested, but as a life-saving tool.

“It provides onboard medical support and can reach places our volunteer ambulances cannot — whether that be firefighters and/or residents trapped in a brush fire, residents stranded by floodwaters, or officers responding to high-risk emergencies such as certain domestic violence calls and armed or active shooter situations,” she said in a message about the budget line for the vehicle. “Labeling it a military vehicle may grab attention, but the truth is that this vehicle will ensure that our police can safely reach those in need under the toughest conditions, render aid, and return home safely themselves.”