Purchase of a "tank" in Keene, NH., remains hotly contested.

“It's an armored vehicle, not an armed vehicle and there's a big difference,” Keene Police Capt. Brian Costa said in describing the BearCat.

The BearCat would not be used to disperse a peaceful assembly, he said.

The BearCat would have four-wheel drive, a thermal-imaging camera, combustible gas detectors and a radiation detector, according to Costa.

Councilor Terry Clark said he plans to make a motion to rescind the acceptance of the grant at the March 1 meeting.

“I can only speak for myself, but I sense that I am gaining support,” Clark said.

Clark said his major concern was best expressed by the LENCO representative, who told the council that Homeland Security grants allow the company to tap into the $34 billion domestic terrorism budget.

“This seems to be a poster child of waste,” Clark said. “This is an agreement between the government and arms dealers, essentially.”

But the vast majority of those at the hearing opposed the BearCat's purchase.

State Rep. Steve Lindsay said: “As one who spends Saturdays the last 11 years protesting our wars in Central Square, I fear this vehicle.”

But on Wednesday, Councilor Clark said he and other councilors had received a letter from Fitzwilliam selectmen saying their police chief had no authority to enter into the agreement and the town did not want to participate.

“I understand that there's danger out there and I do care deeply about the safety of our police,” Clark said, but noted there have only been two murders in the city of 23,000 in the past 14 to 15 years and the city has never lost a policeman in the line of duty.
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