Marshfield, WI (OnFocus) The Marshfield Police Department will have another option in an emergency with the installation of a ram on its rescue vehicle.
The attachment will act as a tool of last resort to breach walls, doors, and windows. A trend in police rescue vehicles, the ram allows officers to tear down part of a wall to see inside a building instead of entering a location blind.
“If you have a barricaded suspect and everything’s been exhausted, and we need to get inside the residence, we can use it for that,” said Patrick Zeps, Assistant Police Chief. “It’s a pretty handy device.”
The detachable ram was installed by Kafka Conveyors & Equipment in Mosinee. While there haven’t been any recent calls where it would have been used, Zeps said the ram is an invaluable tool for the department.
“It’s a last resort when it comes to that, but it’s a necessary resort,” said Zeps.
The MRAP armored rescue vehicle was acquired by the department from the military at no purchase cost in 2016. The MRAP vehicle is used as often as a few times per month, or a few times a year, depending on the types of calls received.
Zeps said the rescue vehicle’s primary purpose is to act as a “giant shield on wheels” for officers who need to get close to a house safely, or to rescue an individual when there’s a possibility of gunfire.
Author: News Desk
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