By MADDY VITALE
Sea Isle City Police Chief Tom McQuillen knows what it takes to help keep residents safe on a barrier island during storms and flooding.
For 2021, the police department is seeking a large, 5-ton military surplus truck that would replace an aging and deteriorating one currently in the department’s fleet.
“Our primary purpose is to get the high-water vehicles for storms,” McQuillen said in an interview Thursday. “We are not looking to militarize our department. This program simply allows us to get vehicles for areas during storms we couldn’t get to otherwise.”
The city has been enrolled for a couple of years in a federal program that gives municipal, county and state law enforcement agencies surplus military equipment – for free.
On Tuesday, City Council approved a resolution to enroll Sea Isle in the program for 2021. It is called the Defense Logistics Agency Law Enforcement Support Office 1033 Program.
McQuillen noted that the 5-ton truck the city currently has is old and in bad condition.
“The 5-ton has significant rust issues. It is old. It needs to be replaced. That is the one, big thing we are looking for this year,” he explained.
The department is also interested in military surplus first aid supplies and whatever else might be available that is useful for the department. But he emphasized the department would not be interested in getting military weapons.
In 2020, the police department received two Humvees, which are big military trucks. The trucks have high wheel clearance suitable for driving through flood waters.
“We literally just put them on the road,” McQuillen said of the new vehicles. “We got them in late October. They are brand new vehicles that were just sitting.”
Not only are the Humvees good for traveling through the city’s roadways when storm waters rise, but they are also equipped to be used as an ambulance. Emergency personnel can stand up and render first aid on the vehicle, the chief pointed out.
And instead of a hefty $50,000 to $60,000 price tag to buy each Humvee, because they came from the federal program, it cost the city about $2,000 each, he noted.
The police department is only responsible for delivery costs, maintenance, fuel and training needed to operate the equipment.
The department only has to apply official police department decals to the vehicles and do some other minor things to make them ready for use.
“I think they are great tools. There are parts of the island with significant events that we couldn’t get to without the high-water vehicles,” McQuillen said. “When we had (Hurricane) Sandy, we had massive evacuations. Police and first responders need those high-water vehicles to rescue people and move them to higher ground.”
