WINONA, Minn. – With an armored war vehicle as backup, drug agents and police surrounded a house in a leafy West Side neighborhood. On command, everybody came out of the house peaceably. Officers went inside to hunt for narcotics. This was about 9 a.m. in the 250 block of Sioux Street. There was one arrest. Antoine Davis, 24, of Winona, was booked on a probation violation warrant out of Mower County for drug possession and aggravated robbery with a weapon. In the house police reported finding controlled substances, three firearms, and cash.
Multiagency
Agencies involved: Southeast Minnesota Violent Crimes Enforcement team, Winona County emergency response team, Winona County Sheriff’s Office, the Winona Police Department. Standing by for the raid was the sheriff’s military-designed armored MRAP, known in military circles as a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle.
Debate: Should we militarize our police
It looks scary—and it can equipped to carry a big stick. Military buffs call it MRAP, short for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle. The Pentagon paid as much as $865,000 each for hundreds of MRPAs during the Afghan war. An obscure 1995 federal program, going by a code name 1033, allowed domestic police departments to acquire surplus military equipment free if they would pay for shipping. So as older MRAP models were phased out of military use, they became part of the 1033 bargain store for local police agencies. The 1033 program burst into public attention in 2014 when police in Ferguson, Missouri, used the war machines against civilian protesters in racial demonstrations. At the time, speaking broadly and not about Ferguson specifically, Winona County Sheriff Dave Brand defended MRAPs as providing armored protection for police officers in difficult situations. Critics, meanwhile, were expressing wariness about what was called the “militarization” of police. In 2015 President Barack Obama banned the transfer of some 1033 equipment, like high-caliber weapons and grenade launchers. President Donald Trump nullified the Obama restrictions two years later. And in 2016 a dozen Minnesota police agencies bought 17 MRAPs. These agencies included Winona County. Minnesota agencies agencies arranged with each other to truck their MRAPs around on request from other agencies. Generally they’re garaged under wraps because, well, they scare some people to know they’re even around. The knee-jerk reaction: “Why? We don’t have land mines in Minnesota, do we? This isn’t Afghanistan.” Police respond that MRAPs can be useful in hostage situations and drug raids in which there is armed resistance. In 2021 after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MRAPs were deployed in several cities. This heightened the debate. In 2020 the Winona MRAP was used in the Maplewood neighborhood after a lone man holed himself up in an apartment and police fretted that a stand-off was imminent. As it turned out, no violent confrontation occurred. But Maplewood neighbors, having no idea what was going on, were shaken to look out their windows and see what appeared to be a live news feed from Kabul playing out on their street.
MRAPs. Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles come in variations adapted for combat missions.
For shipment. MRAPs on rail cars in Beaumont, Texas.
In combat. Withstanding a mine detonation.
A.K.A. Bearcats
MRAPs are in a family of military vehicles sometimes known as Bearcats. Manufactured by Linco of Pittsfield, Massachusetts., a division of truck-maker Navistar (formerly International Harvester). Designed in 2007. Built to date: 9,900. Some configurations accommodate 10 to 12 fully equipped soldiers. An open floor plan can facilitate the rescue of downed personnel. Weight: 28,000 to 32,0000 pounds. Power: 330 to 375 horsepower. Armament varies.
Earlier: Winona’s second war machine