WTF?! A freaking tank? Really?

I've only lived in AZ for a few months now. Yet despite that, I'm not terribly surprised. :lol:

New Mexico, Nevada, and Cali are facepalming themselves right now for sharing a border with AZ.

Hehe a tank for cock fighting, lol that gave me a good chuckle.That'd be a sight to behold! :lol:

A tank, Steven Seagal.. WHAT? :lol:I don't even..

For those that are not familiar with the citizens of Arizona, everyone and their mother owns a gun. The fact the sherrif likes to use his tank at any opportunity does not surprise me.

It's only bad ass if he was blasting Waterloo...

I think every crime should be buster by a tank :lol:

It wasn't a tank. It was an M113, which despite the fact that it has tracks, is NOT a tank. It is an APC, designed to carry troops (Or in this case, SWAT operators) into action without fear of small arms fire. I'm pretty sure that most people just saw it and instantly labeled it a tank. Hell, the ones used by SWAT won't even have the M2 machine gun or ATGMs on it, the only weapons that the vehicle typically carries when used as a transport. Remember, this is the news, they are hardly experts on military hardware. These are the same people who will say that a suspect had a "heavy caliber machine gun pistol" when they were carrying a 9mm Glock 26, or a ".50 caliber automatic machine gun" when the suspect was using a Ruger Mini-14 or a "military-grade heavy assault rifle" when the suspect was using a cheap Chinese knock-off of an M1 Garand. Yes, these were all real examples taken straight from news broadcasts.

That said, this was obviously a massive publicity stunt for Segal's new show. SWAT only brings out M113s when they are presented with a situation like, say, the The North Hollywood Shootoutor a raid on a site with major gang activity where resistance is very possible. The proper response to this would have been a handful of "normal" cops and something like a SWAT team in a BearCat. After all, this guy was into cockfighting, and cockfighting is often associated with gangs so there was the possibility that maybe the guy had some armed gang members hanging around. This, however, was a blatant misuse of police resources and would have NEVER happened if Steven Segal wasn't in on it. This was clearly just a publicity stunt set up by him, and it is disgusting that the police went along with it.

It wasn't a tank. It was an M113, which despite the fact that it has tracks, is NOT a tank. It is an APC, designed to carry troops (Or in this case, SWAT operators) into action without fear of small arms fire. I'm pretty sure that most people just saw it and instantly labeled it a tank. Hell, the ones used by SWAT won't even have the M2 machine gun or ATGMs on it, the only weapons that the vehicle typically carries when used as a transport. Remember, this is the news, they are hardly experts on military hardware. These are the same people who will say that a suspect had a "heavy caliber machine gun pistol" when they were carrying a 9mm Glock 26, or a ".50 caliber automatic machine gun" when the suspect was using a Ruger Mini-14 or a "military-grade heavy assault rifle" when the suspect was using a cheap Chinese knock-off of an M1 Garand. Yes, these were all real examples taken straight from news broadcasts.

That said, this was obviously a massive publicity stunt for Segal's new show. SWAT only brings out M113s when they are presented with a situation like, say, the The North Hollywood Shootoutor a raid on a site with major gang activity where resistance is very possible. The proper response to this would have been a handful of "normal" cops and something like a SWAT team in a BearCat. After all, this guy was into cockfighting, and cockfighting is often associated with gangs so there was the possibility that maybe the guy had some armed gang members hanging around. This, however, was a blatant misuse of police resources and would have NEVER happened if Steven Segal wasn't in on it. This was clearly just a publicity stunt set up by him, and it is disgusting that the police went along with it.

Maybe they were worried that the suspect would unleash a horde of fighting mad cocks on them?xaos

As a resident of Arizona, I found this article quite humorous.:lol:

[QUOTE="MrMe1000"]

Was it a tank or an APC.

Pirate700

SWAT doesn't have tanks...wut?

It wasn't a tank. It was an M113, which despite the fact that it has tracks, is NOT a tank. It is an APC, designed to carry troops (Or in this case, SWAT operators) into action without fear of small arms fire. I'm pretty sure that most people just saw it and instantly labeled it a tank. Hell, the ones used by SWAT won't even have the M2 machine gun or ATGMs on it, the only weapons that the vehicle typically carries when used as a transport. Remember, this is the news, they are hardly experts on military hardware. These are the same people who will say that a suspect had a "heavy caliber machine gun pistol" when they were carrying a 9mm Glock 26, or a ".50 caliber automatic machine gun" when the suspect was using a Ruger Mini-14 or a "military-grade heavy assault rifle" when the suspect was using a cheap Chinese knock-off of an M1 Garand. Yes, these were all real examples taken straight from news broadcasts.

That said, this was obviously a massive publicity stunt for Segal's new show. SWAT only brings out M113s when they are presented with a situation like, say, the The North Hollywood Shootoutor a raid on a site with major gang activity where resistance is very possible. The proper response to this would have been a handful of "normal" cops and something like a SWAT team in a BearCat. After all, this guy was into cockfighting, and cockfighting is often associated with gangs so there was the possibility that maybe the guy had some armed gang members hanging around. This, however, was a blatant misuse of police resources and would have NEVER happened if Steven Segal wasn't in on it. This was clearly just a publicity stunt set up by him, and it is disgusting that the police went along with it.

raven28256

I would bring a tank to a cockfight too.gotta keep my ass covered.

SWAT has APCs.
They might as well use them for transport when they're going on a call for as much safety as they'd hopefully ever need.

Knocking down a wall instead of raiding the house alone with SWAT members, and having "dozens" of SWAT members seems a bit unneeded though. :P

Either way, I don't see a huge deal, other than they could have damaged property and found out he wasn't guilty.

I don't see how it could have costed "tens of thousands of dollars". It can't be that expensive to euthenize chickens, put gas into your APC, and put on your riot gear that you already owned. Unless they're counting the cost of the wall.

Its probley was an apc

I highly doubt swat has acess to a m1a2 or a bradley

[QUOTE="Deihjan"]How about animal police? Will they get tanks too?GabuEx

**** yeah, everyone gets tanks. Can you imagine if you're speeding and a ****ing tank rolls up behind you and tells you to cut that **** out? You'd never speed again.

They would be great for roadblocks aswell etc....

No more of that hitting police cars in the boot to spin them out of a roadblock in NFS Most Wanted :P

Sure, its a great training exercise for tactical vehicles that are probably not being used that much and the costs were probably covered by the TVs shows producers. I doubt a couple 100 gallons of diesel fuel for the armored vehicles costs tens of thousands of dollars but I'm sure that's just the media prematurely inciting emotion like usual. If they had information or records that the suspect is heavily armed and dangerous than this just supports the response.

Its probley was an apc

I highly doubt swat has acess to a m1a2 or a bradley

James161324

They don't, and it wasn't a tank. The heaviest vehicle that police have access to is a handful of decommissioned M113 APCs from the US Army. I haven't seen video of the vehicle in question, but if people are claiming it is a "tank" then it has to be an M113. This is because:

A.) When most people see a tracked vehicle, they instantly call it a tank regardless as to if it is a tank or not.

B.) Phoenix, Arizona is one of the very, very few places in America where SWAT teams do have a small number of old M113s.

So yeah guys. It wasn't a tank. In fact, it wasn't even armed; when SWAT teams use M113s they don't have the weapons on them. Using an M2 Browning in an urban area crawling with civilians isn't exactly a good idea, while the other weapons usually mounted on M113s (Like TOWs, M61 Vulcans, or Mk19s) aren't suited for police use. The news story blows things out of proportion by constantly talking about how they used a "tank," implying that SWAT rolled up in a fleet of M1A2s with full TUSK upgrade kits. Admittedly, that wasn't a situation that would have called for an M113, but the news report still gives you the wrong idea.

I started humming the Tank theme song from L4D. Dante2710

Could you imagine a huge SWAT team rolling towards a house with a tank while blasting the tank theme? I think crime would cease to exist afterwards out of sheer pants-messing terror!:lol:

Anyways, I guess Arizona takes their cocks seriously!:lol:

Cockfighting = serious business...:P

If nobody got hurt, then I really don't see a problem.

Okay guys, I was wrong. It wasn't an M113, as I assumed it probably was based on the fact that the news claimed the police used a "tank." The reality makes it obvious that the news blew this even more out of proportion than I thought. It actually doesn't seem TOO excessive, now that I've found this video:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/03/23/134803230/arizona-sheriff-uses-a-tank-to-arrest-cockfighting-suspect

The "tank" in question? It is a Cadillac Gage V-150 Commando, a 4x4 armored car. It isn't even a tracked vehicle. It seems that the media has an even looser definition of "tank" than I thought. I thought for sure the "tank" in question was probably just an M113, but it seems like it is a much more mundane V-150, something used in any routine raid carried out by SWAT if there is even a tiny risk of danger.

The "tank" in question? It is a Cadillac Gage V-150 Commando, a 4x4 armored car. It isn't even a tracked vehicle. It seems that the media has an even looser definition of "tank" than I thought. I thought for sure the "tank" in question was probably just an M113, but it seems like it is a much more mundane V-150, something used in any routine raid carried out by SWAT if there is even a tiny risk of danger.raven28256

^ I for one didn't expect it to be a battle tank..one the army uses. I expected it to be an armored vehicle just like that, without tracks.

Still, it's a bit overkill in my opinion. And quite laughable. It's a waste of money and recourses. Especially for a guy that has no history of gun possession and was only convicted one time (for cockfighting). Or so the news says anyway.

[QUOTE="raven28256"]The "tank" in question? It is a Cadillac Gage V-150 Commando, a 4x4 armored car. It isn't even a tracked vehicle. It seems that the media has an even looser definition of "tank" than I thought. I thought for sure the "tank" in question was probably just an M113, but it seems like it is a much more mundane V-150, something used in any routine raid carried out by SWAT if there is even a tiny risk of danger.killerfist

^ I for one didn't expect it to be a battle tank..one the army uses. I expected it to be an armored vehicle just like that, without tracks.

Still, it's a bit overkill in my opinion. And quite laughable. It's a waste of money and recourses. Especially for a guy that has no history of gun possession and was only convicted one time (for cockfighting). Or so the news says anyway.

I was giving the media SOME credit, but apparently too much. I didn't think that their idea of a "tank" was a 4x4 armored car. Hell, calling a V-150 a "tank" is basically on par with claiming that SWAT commenced a raid using tanks when they just used a standard response van. Since they were claiming that they used "tanks" I was expecting at least just an M113, a tracked APC actually used by SWAT teams in Phoenix. Apparently, any large vehicle is now considered a "tank" by the media.

I do agree that things were still a bit excessive though. They certainly didn't need two of them; SWAT teams around here regularly handle far worse situations with only one BearCat. They definitely went a bit overboard, but it seems like it was much less excessive than the articles make it seem.

im pretty sure it was an apc

What the hell? A tank? Steven Segal? Seriously... what the hell? :lol:Maniacc1

In Michigan we use Apache gunships to track down jaywalkers. Appropriate use of force.

I actually lol'ed at this article :D

Also:

[spoiler] [/spoiler]

@Deihjan

From your replies to this thread, I can only seem to conclude that you actually 1) believe this article is real, and 2) believe a tank was ACTUALLY driven into a neighborhood in a heavy metropolitan area.

.........

Ok, then. Moving on.

[QUOTE="James161324"]

Its probley was an apc

I highly doubt swat has acess to a m1a2 or a bradley

raven28256

They don't, and it wasn't a tank. The heaviest vehicle that police have access to is a handful of decommissioned M113 APCs from the US Army. I haven't seen video of the vehicle in question, but if people are claiming it is a "tank" then it has to be an M113. This is because:

A.) When most people see a tracked vehicle, they instantly call it a tank regardless as to if it is a tank or not.

B.) Phoenix, Arizona is one of the very, very few places in America where SWAT teams do have a small number of old M113s.

So yeah guys. It wasn't a tank. In fact, it wasn't even armed; when SWAT teams use M113s they don't have the weapons on them. Using an M2 Browning in an urban area crawling with civilians isn't exactly a good idea, while the other weapons usually mounted on M113s (Like TOWs, M61 Vulcans, or Mk19s) aren't suited for police use. The news story blows things out of proportion by constantly talking about how they used a "tank," implying that SWAT rolled up in a fleet of M1A2s with full TUSK upgrade kits. Admittedly, that wasn't a situation that would have called for an M113, but the news report still gives you the wrong idea.