Small Missouri Town Gets MRAP Vehicle From Defense Department

A southwest Missouri police department has received what it calls a “beast of a vehicle” from the Defense Department.

Nixa police recently acquired for free a mine-resistant ambush protected – MRAP – vehicle. Officers will use the vehicle if there’s an armed encounter in a public area in Nixa, a town of about 20,000 south of Springfield.

Nixa Lt. Joe Campbell says in a news release the vehicle “can best be described as a large beast of a vehicle.”

The Springfield News-Leader reports the MRAP vehicles originally protected U.S. soldiers in combat. But with recent reductions in troops overseas, the Defense Department has made more than 7,000 of the vehicles available to police departments.

Nixa Police Chief Jimmy Liles says the vehicle doesn’t have any weaponry, but it’s bullet-proof.