The Jersey City Council is expected to vote on acquiring a $429,500 “Rook” tactical vehicle through the Urban Area Security Initiative program, according to a copy of Wednesday’s agenda.
By Daniel Ulloa and John Heinis/Hudson County View
The resolution, which will be reviewed at today’s caucus meeting, would ratify an emergency contract to Florida-based Ring Power Corporation to purchase a Rook tactical solution vehicle “to protect the health, welfare and safety of the residents.”
The measure continues that “formal quotes” could not be obtained for the vehicle due to an unspecified emergency and would be purchased by the Department of Public Safety, specifically the Office of Emergency Management.
“The Rook is a tactical vehicle custom designed and fabricated by Ring Power Corporation from a Cat chassis and contains rubber tracks, dual joystick controls, cameras, gun port holes, rear and front lights, an enclosed cab with air conditioning/heat and operator comfort seat, custom installed bullet-proof glass, and NIJ Level IV armor cab reinforcement fabrication,” Ring Power’s website says.
This morning after a press conference about bolstering Restaurant Week, Mayor Steven Fulop stressed that the vehicle wouldn’t cost taxpayers a dime thanks to the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) program.
“There’s a lot of misinformation that people are promulgating on social media. This is not Jersey City tax dollars or budget dollars. This is something that’s being funded by the UASI Program, which is a federal program, it’s a grant that Jersey City taxpayer dollars do not go for,” he said.
“Now, what’s the importance of the vehicle? The vehicle is for active shooter situations or, in some cases, for fires. We saw it used for on December 10th [2019] by the NYPD, it was tremendously helpful to minimize the damage during that situation, and from then on, we started to look at other things about federal grants in order to help with more equipment.”
Fulop also said that’s it not realistic to always rely on the NYPD in crisis situations like the Kosher market shooting since multiple crises could occur simultaneously.
“This program provides funding to enhance regional preparedness and capabilities in designated high-threat, high-density areas,” FEMA’s description of UASI grants says.
Jersey City Ward F Councilman Frank “Educational” Gilmore, who spurred a viral tweet on the subject after mentioning the Rook at his regular Saturday Zoom meeting prior to the caucus meeting to review the agenda, said he still had questions and concerns.
“My disposition is that while it won’t cost the taxpayers anything, but I do want to really dive in with the public safety director or OEM coordinator, whoever is presenting, to understand some of the rationales like could that money have been allocated elsewhere?,” he said over the phone prior to the caucus.
“I want to listen to why they think we need it and ask some questions along the lines of what [equipment] have we been using so far and why now? What, if anything, is the dire need for it?”
Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association President Det. Jospeh Cossolini said that while he had no issue with the acquisition, he felt that there are other dire public safety needs being ignored right now.
“Better to look at it than look for it in an emergency situation, but I’d also like to see every single cop fitted for a vest so that they feel safe and know that the city actually cares for them. I can’t comprehend why they can’t get vests for these cops,” he told HCV.
ACLU New Jersey Executive Director Amol Sinha tweeted that militarizing police departments is “unnecessary” in response to the aforementioned viral tweet.
“Militarization of NJ police departments is unnecessary, a waste of tax $, & only encourages militarized responses to routine societal moments, which can escalate situations & cause harm,” he wrote.
“Every dollar of police spending should be thoroughly scrutinized, like any other city dept.”
During the caucus meeting, Public Safety Director James Shea fielded questions about the piece of equipment.
“This is an emergency grant because only one company makes this. It is a platform based on a small forklift track vehicle that provides protection and shielding,” stated Shea.
“It has no offensive capabilities. It is not a weapon. It is a shield. It allows us to approach dangerous situations with our officers under protection, so they don’t have to use force to protect themselves,” Shea said.
Expectedly, several council members had questions.
“Can this ever be deployed against protestors? What other capabilities does it have other than shielding an officer?” Ward D Councilman Yousef Saleh asked.
“Against protestors, no,” Shea said, continuing that that protestors are respected and protected from traffic by police.
“We take that very seriously … it would never, ever be deployed in Jersey City against protestors. It would be useless anyway,” Shea said.
With that Saleh, inquired if the Rook could be used to help during a natural disaster.
“Yes, it has a claw attachment. I know New York has used it during house explosions … to aid our firefighters searching for victims. It’s more conducive to our environment. It’s small. It can move between marked cars,” Shea stated.
He also noted that it can rise to the second floor of a building and bring a negotiator closer to someone so they can speak without having to yell.
Due to it’s rescue capacity, OEM would oversee it and would have the ability to loan it out to other counties and large cities such as Newark.
Furthermore, Ward E Councilman James Solomon wanted an overview of what else was purchased under the grant.
OEM and Homeland Security Director Greg Kierce said the city has purchased CCTV cameras, personnel training, and equipment and that Jersey City was not the only New Jersey recipient.
“What are the specific incidents we would have used this Rook?,” Solomon asked.
“We would have used it in the December 10th case, God bless the victims there,” Shea replied.
Other examples mention by Shea included a situation where a man threatened a baby, when a man tried to set fire to a building, when a suspect was barricaded in a car that took four hours of negotiations to resolve, and when a mentally ill man attempted suicide by cop.
“We would have been able to come right up to the window. Instead, we had to spend some harrowing time doing investigations,” he said.
“Who is going to be in charge of authorizing when it’s necessary to use this?,” Gilmore asked.
Shea explained it would be used in tactical situations.
“At all times we try to have a deputy chief… in charge of authorizing additional items on hand,” he said regarding hostage situations, adding that Kierce and OEM would be in charge of the Rook.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comments from this afternoon’s caucus meeting.
