CODY - The Cody Police Department has acquired an armored tactical vehicle that was donated by the Kent, Wash., Police Department.

The bulletproof truck started life as an armored vehicle for a private security firm, and later was used for a decade in Kent by that city's emergency response team before being given to Cody.

"The price was right," said Chief Perry Rockvam, who went to Kent with Assistant Chief Dave Patterson last week to receive the vehicle.

Patterson, who previously worked as an officer with the Kent Police Department, said he heard about the vehicle while chatting with his former co-workers.

"At first, I thought they were joking," Patterson said. "Then I figured we had better jump on this."

Kent Police Lt. Lisa Price said the vehicle needed a few repairs, and no longer fit the needs of the multi-jurisdictional group that used it. Kent is a city of roughly 87,000, located in King County between Seattle and Tacoma.

Price said the vehicle was donated to Kent in 1996 by a private security firm with the condition that it would be donated to another law enforcement agency or destroyed, should the department no longer need it.

She said it was an "easy decision based on really good timing" to donate the old truck to Cody.

Rockvam said the department will spend between $4,000 and $5,000 for the vehicle, including travel to Kent, transportation of the vehicle to Cody, minor repairs and a new paint job.

He said the money was in his budget and could be spent at his discretion, adding that a recent stretch during which the department was understaffed meant payroll expenses were less than budgeted.

The vehicle would not incur any special operating expenses beyond normal preventive maintenance, he said.

Rockvam said the vehicle will be used in high-risk scenarios like a barricaded subject or in a hostage situation.

"During the Hells Angels event, we tried to get an armored vehicle here, but only found one in the state we could use, and couldn't work it out to get it here," Rockvam said.

He cited a recent incident as one in which the vehicle might have been deployed.

"There was a domestic incident in the county, and some of our officers responded, and the subject had armed himself with a rifle and got on the roof," Rockvam said.

"If an officer had been shot, that kind of vehicle would be used to get in and rescue him," he said.

Rockvam said he expected some would not recognize a need in Cody for such a vehicle, while others might see it as overkill.

"It's just another tool in our tool bag that gives us more options to use when we never know what a scenario is going to be," he said. "The better equipped and prepared we are, the better chance an incident will have a positive end."

"We had an opportunity for a great piece of equipment, and if we walked away, we would be losing that at a real bargain," Patterson said, adding that similar used vehicles typically sell for $35,000 or more.

Rockvam said the vehicle is operational now and could be used whenever needed.

It would also be made available when needed by the Park County Sheriff's Office, Powell Police Department or other law enforcement agencies around the Bighorn Basin, he said, adding that it was the only vehicle of its kind in northwestern Wyoming.

Billings Police Chief Rich St. John said his department did not have such a vehicle, but had an agreement to share one owned by the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office.

That vehicle is a surplus military armored personnel carrier, St. John said.

He said it was not used often, but is sometimes used to provide protection to officers moving in and out of dangerous situations, including calls where gunfire has been reported.

Rockvam said it was not uncommon for departments to donate or transfer used equipment to other law enforcement agencies.

Earlier this week, the Cody City Council approved the sale of an old Cody Police Department patrol car to the Deaver Police Department for $550, Rockvam said.

"That's all we were going to get on our trade-in value, and they had an older car, so for us it was a way to help another agency, just like we received help from Kent, Wash. It's law enforcement helping law enforcement," Rockvam said.