The Cheyenne Police Department has acquired a military-surplus armored vehicle free of charge according to spokesman Officer Dan Long.

He describes the vehicle as a Caiman, a member of the MRAP class of military vehicles which have been widely used in combat situations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Long says the department will deploy it with the SWAT team in situations where a sniper is shooting from a building or similar circumstances.

It can also be used to rescue people in a natural disaster and to evacuate threatened buildings. He says the armor on the Caiman can stop rifle rounds, while the department's previous armored vehicle didn't have that ability.

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