What is America Coming to When Small Town PD's Feel the Need to Acquire MRAP Military Vehicles?

By Rob Janicki 

Washington, Iowa, population 7000, has acquired an MRAP for their police department.  Why?  What possible use could the police department of Washington, Iowa, do with a 40,000 pound heavily armored military vehicle?

The excuses range from school shootings (which are an actual concern but an MRAP seems like overkill) to a terrorist attack happening in central Iowa (because if there’s any place that seems ripe for a high-profile terrorist attack it’s Washington, Iowa, population 7,000).

The local PD probably got the excess military vehicle at little to no cost, but that's not where it ends.  What are the upkeep costs going to be?  What are the training costs going to be to train PD personnel in the operation and use of an MRAP?  Do the taxpayers of Washington, Iowa, realize that their elected officials have indebted them into the future to support a military vehicle that does not have any logical purpose in small town law enforcement?

So many questions, with virtually no reasonable answers, beginning with why a town of 7000 people would ever need a heavily armored military vehicle in the normal pursuit of law enforcement duties?  Does someone in authority believe there is a high probability that extraordinary circumstances will occur in Washington, Iowa, that will necessitate such a vehicle?  Is Washington, Iowa, run by doomsday 'prepper' survivalists?  Or, is there an even more sinister reason that might enter around control of a populist rebellion against a tyrannical government bent upon extralegal authoritarian control over the population?

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