IOWA CITY — In 2014 then-Johnson County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek acquired an MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) armored truck from the Defense Department under their 1033 Program which provides military surplus equipment and vehicles to law enforcement agencies through an application process for only the cost of transportation.
The vehicle was refurbished with a new engine and transmission, and six new tires (at no cost to the County) before it was shipped to Solon for painting. Emergency lights and radio equipment were also added before placing the vehicle in service with six agencies (North Liberty, Coralville, and Iowa City Police Departments, Johnson County Emergency Management Agency (EMA), University of Iowa Public Safety, and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office) pooling drug forfeiture money to cover these costs.
Pulkrabek defended the controversial decision to procure the MRAP in a 2014 interview.
“We knew they were out there and were going to be available.” He cited Johnson County’s status as the fourth-most populous county in the state (with the University of Iowa) and added, “There’s always the fear that we could have an active shooter situation.” Pulkrabek called the MRAP, “another tool in the toolbox, but it’s a tool we hope we never have to use. I can’t emphasize that enough. We don’t want to have to use it. We hope that nothing is ever bad enough that we have to get this thing out.”
But in today’s world, he said, “It can happen anywhere, anytime, anyhow. And to have another tool that we can use to keep our officers safe, and perhaps keep some citizens safe…or rescue some citizens, it’s a benefit to have it.”
Also in 2014, North Liberty Police Chief Diane Venenga said, “I supported getting the MRAP and am glad to be involved. This would not be something that NLPD alone would acquire, but it makes more sense for Johnson County. With cooperative agreements with all of the local law enforcement agencies in Johnson County we can mutually own and share the costs.”
Criticism, from both sides of the political spectrum, swirled around Pulkrabek and the MRAP.
However, Pulkrabek called the detractors a “vocal minority. There is a need, unfortunately, for armored vehicles. No matter what people may say. Usually, the people talking about it aren’t the ones who’ll be going into a hot scene. It’ll be us. We are a reactionary business. We react to what we are called to. And, having the ability to react in different, appropriate means is a benefit.” As for the detractors, Pulkrabek said, “We’ll have to agree to disagree,” and reiterated, “It’s simply another tool on the tool belt for law enforcement. I don’t think of it as anything more, or anything less, than a tool. There are a lot of people in this world who have evil ideas, evil thoughts, and evil actions. And we’re the front lines for dealing with that evil. There are people with violent intentions, and they exercise them, unfortunately.”
Criticism flared again in the wake of the response to June 3, 2020, protests in Iowa City as activists marched in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of a police officer. During the protests vandalism occurred and Interstate 80 traffic was blocked for a time resulting in at least one ambulance (Adam-4 out of Clarence) being stranded in the traffic standstill. Officers from several law enforcement agencies deployed tear gas and “flash-bang” devices to clear the protestors while the MRAP was parked nearby. The MRAP had also been utilized by the Iowa City Police Department (ICPD) through mutual aid for a number of raids in a predominantly black neighborhood in southeast Iowa City prompting more complaints and criticisms of the vehicle, which has been described as “intimidating.”
This past summer the Johnson County Board of Supervisors began discussions with Sheriff Brad Kunkel about disposing of the MRAP (under the 1033 Program the County can only return the MRAP for issuance to another agency, it cannot sell nor scrap the vehicle). By law, the Sheriff is not subordinate to the Supervisors, therefore they cannot order him to do so. Discussions were also held about possibly
replacing the MRAP with a smaller, less menacing vehicle. Sheriff Kunkel suggested a Lenco Armored Vehicles Bearcat G2, an armored truck built on a Ford F-550 chassis at a cost of $240,000.
Kunkel included the purchase of a Bearcat in his budget for the new fiscal year (which begins on July 1, 2022) along with upgrade and replacement of body-worn cameras ($404,782), data storage for the new cameras ($10,000), a new line item for community outreach efforts ($10,000), one additional patrol deputy ($104,059), and a patrol vehicle for the new deputy ($42,000).
Kunkel presented his budget to the supervisors in a Dec. 6 work session with public comments. Eighteen spoke in person or via Zoom to express their opposition to both the MRAP and the Bearcat while nobody spoke in support.
“There have been no honest reasons given for this Bearcat,” said Taylor Kohn, an activist from Iowa City. “We have heard lies that it has no offensive capabilities when a Bearcat exactly like it was used by the feds to tear into a house in Iowa City just a few months ago. If you vote yes on this Bearcat, you are approving of the use of a military vehicle based on lies and cowardice. Lies that you told publicly, lies that you let go quietly unchallenged to stand on the record. You are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on an unnecessary and dangerous vehicle to get rid of a different unnecessary and dangerous vehicle.”
Martha Hampel, another activist from Iowa City, and originator of an online petition at scrapthemrap.org, told the supervisors she had nearly 500 signatures opposing both the MRAP and Bearcat with support from organizations including Iowa Physicians for Social Responsibility, Great Plains Action Society, the Iowa City Democratic Socialists of America, the Iowa Civil Liberties Council, and ICPD Watch. “I ask that the supervisors please not leave any room in the Sheriff’s budget to purchase a Bearcat or any other military-style vehicle. It is well within your rights as the board, and within your scope of authority to vote down the $240k in the Sheriff’s proposed budget which is allocated for a Bearcat,” she said. “There is no clear enough policy regarding how the vehicle would be used, and no consequences for the Sheriff’s Office for violating such a policy.”
Iowa City resident Pat Bowen, via Zoom, said “Claiming that its use is for officer safety is a joke! It only provides safety to an individual inside, so claiming its used for safety in the ways the current MRAP has been deployed is quite a stretch. The current vehicle has only been used as an intimidation ploy.
I don’t think that’s the kind of community I want to live in.” Bowen urged the supervisors to instead earmark the money for additional social workers, childcare, and “feeding people.”
Iowa City resident Ed Flaherty took exception to how Pulkrabek was able to acquire the MRAP without oversight by the supervisors. “To be clear, the MRAP has to go. It’s being obtained by the County was a fiasco. It needs to be admitted and faced, and we do not need to repeat the mistakes of that. It is an instrument of provocation, an instrument of intimidation.”
Flaherty stated he was not in favor of defunding the police. “We need local law enforcement, but local law enforcement needs to be part of an organic community. Having the MRAP, and having the Bearcat, for all that I know, is simply a replacement with a little bit of a softer edge. Get rid of the MRAP right away. Figure out a good way to do it. But before you do anything about funding for that Bearcat, you need to have reams of explanations for how it is to be used, and a series of open meetings in terms of why we need this.”
Chairwoman Pat Heiden assured the audience the board was not voting on the Bearcat, nor any other budgetary item at that time. The board will hold their first vote on the proposed budget on Jan. 12 with a second vote one week later. If needed, a third vote would be held the following day. Heiden noted the supervisors have been holding similar meetings with all department heads. “It’s a time for the departments to present a proposed budget, and for the board to have the opportunity to ask questions, to ask for any clarification as we go forward.”
Supervisor Royce Ann Porter explained her role in Sheriff Kunkel’s research into the Bearcat as a potential replacement. “As a black activist this was a main concern for me. I need people to know in the community that when this first come up, I literally called Brad (Kunkel) and asked that we have a conversation. I’ve seen the raids where this MRAP has been. I went to see the MRAP. I didn’t like what I saw. It’s very intimidating. So, I don’t need people to tell me how I feel or what I feel about something, because I am too, not wanting to see that thing on the streets.”
Porter asked Kunkel if there was a smaller vehicle they could use when needed. He suggested the Bearcat, which she likened to the general size and profile of an ambulance. “I was very happy with that one because of the simple fact the MRAP is not going anywhere. We don’t, all five of us sitting here, do not have a say in that.”
Supervisor Jon Green said, “I think it’s inappropriate to have weapons of war in our community whether they come straight from the Army or straight from defense contractors. I don’t think it’s the most responsible use of the funds that we’re charged with disbursing. I’d also point out that back in June (2021) when we began this conversation, or at least after I had joined this board, I floated the idea of providing armor for patrol vehicles, because that’s what you folks are in most of the time, and with the realization it doesn’t provide the protection an armored vehicle does.”
Kunkel provided an update on the use of the MRAP during a June 16 work session where he attempted to dispel several myths and mischaracterizations. He reiterated despite the vehicle’s military origin; it has no military features. “It doesn’t have a water cannon. It doesn’t have firearms that are deployable. It simply moves people and provides protection. It is a large bulletproof box that moves our folks in and out of trouble, and also the public if we need to remove them from an area with gunfire.”
Typically, the Sheriff said, the vehicle is kept on standby for Special Response Team (SRT) callouts, which are high-risk incidents involving the danger of offenders with firearms. It is staged (parked) close to the scene of the incident and returned to service once the scene is secure. It also is deployed for active gunfire incidents such as was the case earlier this year when an armed suicidal man fired at officers in North Liberty after a vehicle chase and before barricading himself in a vacant business. Shortly after being acquired the MRAP was utilized to evacuate people trapped by rising floodwaters.
“Law enforcement is often faced with dynamic situations and incident commanders and supervisors have to make decisions in the moment on how equipment is going to be utilized,” Kunkle said. Typical police vehicles offer no ballistic protection against gunfire. “Without it, we don’t have any other option to use a vehicle for cover should we need it.”
As-of the June meeting, the MRAP had been deployed 19 times since being acquired with 16 being for a shooting, homicide, or other firearms-related investigation including two incidents where shots were fired at officers. “The common denominator in just about all of them is shootings or gunfire,” said Kunkel. “The reason it is utilized is because firearms are likely present in these situations. We have that resource available to protect everyone should firearms be used against them.”
The vehicle was also used on Dec. 7 in a mutual aid request by the United States Marshals Service to assist in serving an arrest warrant on Oasis Road NE, West Branch. According to a press release from the Sheriff’s Office, “Based on the circumstances and the information available to law enforcement the MRAP responded to the scene. Law enforcement personnel, including two crisis negotiators, occupied the MRAP and approached the suspect who was still in a vehicle. The suspect fled and a short vehicle pursuit ensued before ending on the property near an outbuilding. A crisis negotiator inside of the MRAP established communication with the suspect and he was taken into custody without further incident. The suspect was transported by the US Marshals to the Muscatine County Jail.”
Supervisor Lisa Green-Douglas said she saw a fallacy in Kunkel’s claim the MRAP, or Bearcat, are needed and pointed out the Sheriff has not provided “any kind of data indicating that we actually need this.” She added, the only “good thing” about the Bearcat discussion is, “Maybe we could have some impact on the policy. I could never support the Bearcat, but on the record, not supporting the MRAP. I urge you to consider the benefits it has given to your department, and the impact that it has had on the community.”
“I don’t think I’m ever going to convince you that it’s necessary,” said Kunkel. “And I understand the trepidation and reservations that people have about it…I get that too. But as I’ve stated before, my job is also to make sure that the people that serve at the Sheriff’s Office and the public are safe to go home every day. We do everything we can to mitigate circumstances and make sure we’re not using force, that people are kept safe, and that things are resolved peacefully. And that doesn’t work every time.
And, we have to be prepared for those times where everything else fails.”
Sometimes, he said, officers need the extra protection. “I don’t live and work and operate in a world that ought to be. We work in the world that is, and sometimes there are dangerous situations that we send people into harm’s way to solve it, and to keep them safe and sometimes they need to do it within the confines of an armored vehicle. I think we’ve been responsible in how we’ve utilized that vehicle over the years, and we’ll continue to be responsible and accountable for it.”
Green responded to the Sheriff’s comments, saying “It is our responsibility to do what we can to move the world toward what it should be.”

Gallery • 2 Photos

Lenco Armored Vehicles photo

Johnson County Sheriff Brad Kunkel has proposed replacing the controversial MRAP armored truck with a smaller “Bearcat” truck at a cost of $240,000, which he included in his budget request for the next fiscal year.