UPDATE: Did N.J. police agencies get $40M in military gear legally?
Police departments across New Jersey received thousands of military hand-me-downs -- including 13 heavily-armored vehicles -- over the past two years valued at nearly $40 million.
Despite concerns about militarizing local departments, in the second half of last year alone, 13 mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles, or MRAPs, were shipped to a dozen municipal police departments and a sheriff's office, data obtained by NJ Advance Media shows.
The equipment has been distributed as part of a federal program that started in the mid-1990s and allows local agencies to order the surplus items for free, paying only shipping and maintenance costs.
Local agencies reported they planned to use the MRAPs in water rescues, terrorist attacks or any situation where SWAT would respond, which can include transporting law enforcement to and from protests.
But acquiring the vehicles has not been without controversy in New Jersey. Three years ago, the Bergen County Sheriff's Office withdrew its request for the 13-ton truck, saying "it was no longer worth the effort."
See what your local law enforcement has received from the military surplus program. Look through our searchable database.
Eleven of the MRAPs delivered last year had to be shipped from California or Texas. The shipping costs ranged between $3,500 and $7,500. Most also needed some minor repairs -- replacing of windshields, tune-ups and a paint job -- but none of the vehicles cost the municipalities more than $26,000 in total.
"If there's any type of active shooter -- lone-wolf type incidents -- it's the vehicle that can be used, especially something like a Pulse (Orlando attack)," Perth Amboy Police Department's head of SWAT Lt. Joseph Sulikowski said at a council meeting.
Police in Florida responded to the shooting at a nightclub in June with a similar, but smaller armored vehicle -- a Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck or Bearcat, which costs between $200,000 and $500,000.
"Hopefully it never happens here, but unfortunately, I can't guarantee that," Sulikowski said.
That's been the thinking in local police departments since lawmakers set federal and state standards two years ago, regulating how these pieces of equipment are obtained through the DoD's Law Enforcement Support Office.
Many of the of the 2,400 line-items detailed in the data obtained by NJ Advance Media are for construction and maintenance such as tools, medical kits, forklifts, dump trucks, mop heads and sandbags.
Others are tactical, military-grade devices and weapons accessories that are being shipped to police agencies.
Statewide, the military provided 608 gun sights -- including night vision, holographic, thermal and red-dot sights -- nearly 100 pairs of night-vision goggles and dozens of pieces of riot gear in 2015 and 2016.
Local agencies also received 196 Humvees and military cargo trucks over the same two-year span. No weapons or helicopters were acquired by Garden State agencies over that time.
Milltown, a 1.6-square-mile borough, tucked between Route 1 and the Turnpike, received a Humvee and 2.5-ton troop carrier. The two vehicles have enough seats to transport the entire police force of 16.
The federal 1033 program for surplus equipment moved to the forefront of political discourse in 2014 in the wake of the protests for the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen by a white officer in Ferguson, Mo. The images from the demonstrations showed a police response that resembled more of a battle-ready army than local law enforcement.
Milltown's Humvee and military cargo truck parked in the borough police department's parking lot.
"What I don't want to see is what we saw in Missouri, where a military vehicle and on top of the vehicle we have an M-50 pointed at protesters," Perth Amboy Councilman Fernando Irizarry said in the January meeting. "Is that vehicle ever going to be used in a situation like that?"
Sulikowski told the council there would be no gun mounted on the the vehicle.
"Will it be used during protests as a transport vehicle? I'm not going to lie to you, it may," Sulikowski said. "We don't have the resources here to put a gun on top."
The city said it will use the MRAP as a rescue vehicle and as a portable barrier or shield to provide cover from gunfire.
Perth Amboy police received more than $2 million worth of military vehicles over the last two years, as well as another half million in other surplus gear, including searchlights, sandbags, an iPad and ordinary day-to-day supplies.
The city also received a persistent security surveillance system, valued at nearly a quarter-million dollars, the highest valued item after the MRAP.
Its national stock number description says the system provides a "high resolution, day or night surveillance capability for enhanced target recognition and situational awareness."
"The camera systems are deployed at various city events and festivals with high foot traffic to enhance the safety of the public," city officials said in a statement.
The American Civil Liberties Union has continued to raise concerns about the former military equipment landing at local police departments.
"The general issue with the militarization of police is it really suggests that the only way for these municipalities to handle their day-to-day policing is to obtain these pieces of equipment," said Dianna Houenou, policy counsel at the ACLU of New Jersey. "It's troubling. It can destroy the trust in government."
In 2015, Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation adding levels of transparency to the program, which before was often unchecked. New Jersey police agencies had received 894 assault rifles, two helicopters and a grenade launcher since the 1990s.
The state law required agencies to file paperwork with the State Police and Office of Emergency Management to register for the federal program and obtain permission for the acquisition of surplus items. Both of which have to be approved by the majority of the full local governing body in a resolution.
"This law is intended to give the public a voice in the process, allowing residents to weigh in on whether their local department should have equipment such as riot shotguns or assault weapons," said state Senator Nia Gill (D-Essex), a sponsor of the bill.
Gill said in a statement that the governing body should pass a resolution each time the municipality considers requesting military items.
"Prior to the passage of this law, the public was not aware of the kind of military equipment their town, city or county had received from the federal government, and in most cases that it had acquired the equipment at all," she said.
Because of how the law has been interpreted, however, most of the military surplus discussions go on between local police, local elected officials and State Police, which oversees the distribution of items.
Only high-profile items -- such as MRAPs or aircraft -- are required to be approved in a resolution by the local governing bodies within 30 days of receiving the pieces of equipment, according to State Police Lt. Robert Aponte, the state's 1033 program coordinator.
Agency coordinators are required to justify the use of the equipment in the paperwork filed with the State Police and local elected officials, Aponte said. The required resolution enrolling a municipality in the program often contains language allowing departments to order smaller ticket items without additional resolutions, according to Aponte.
Federal restrictions were lifted on the distribution of MRAPs as a result of the 2015 San Bernardino attack that killed 14 people and seriously injured 22 others.
Perth Amboy put in for its MRAP, valued at $658,000, on Dec. 12, and received the vehicle at the end of December. It cost the city $6,365 to cover the transport from Texas.
"The only reason there is a resolution is to have it on the record the city has taken in the vehicle," said Perth Amboy's Business Administrator Adam Cruz in the city's Jan. 11 council meeting.
Howell Police Chief Andrew Kudrick says the department plans to paint its MRAP similar to other cruisers.
In Howell Township, which received the most valuable MRAP in the state worth $865,000, Police Chief Andrew Kudrick sees the program as a boon for local law enforcement agencies and their budgets.
The Howell Police Department is unique in that it has never needed a vehicle for a flooding rescue, the primary justification listed on all of New Jersey agencies' applications for the armored vehicles.
"We've never had a high-water rescue or an active shooter," said Kudrick stressing the need to be prepared for a worst-case scenario. "With the increasing number of violence incidents in suburban areas, not just small cities ... this gives me peace of mind. If I couldn't extract a citizen from a threat it would weigh heavily on me."
Howell pays for all the costs associated with the program including the painting and repairs through its forfeiture funds, Kudrick said. The department conducts its required training for free through a reciprocal agreement with Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
"Right here, I have a vehicle that's immediately available to head out with cruisers," Kudrick said. The county-wide SWAT has a Bearcat, but Kudrick said the smaller armored vehicle would take nearly 45 minutes to put into action from storage.
The police department has also ordered backpacks, medical kits and stretchers with preparations to retrofit its MRAP to transport injured if necessary.
"We're not just going to get stuff to get stuff," said Lt. Bernie Fowler, the department's head of training.
Kudrick said it would be "irresponsible" for him as chief to not acquire equipment, such as an MRAP, at minimal or no cost to the taxpayers that could help save lives in an emergency response situation.
Data reporter Carla Astudillo contributed to this report.
Craig McCarthy may be reached at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig and on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.