ST. PETERSBURG - The new SWAT vehicle has a toilet that burns waste, two color televisions and wiring for an outdoor camera that can zoom in on incidents.
"It's a beautiful vehicle," said St. Petersburg police Officer Mike Garafalo, who supervises its upkeep.
The International truck is a cross between a semitrailer-truck and a mobile home. For nearly $200,000 in grant money, it's an upgrade from the converted ambulance that has seen more than 125,000 miles and is being eaten by termites.
The 32-foot-long custom vehicle will serve as a mobile command center for the St. Petersburg Police Department's SWAT and hostage negotiating teams. It recently hit the streets, joining the ranks of similar vehicles at other Tampa Bay law enforcement agencies.
The threat of terrorism and availability of more federal grant money have fueled the trend to buy these vehicles, police say. LDV Inc., a leading manufacturer in Wisconsin, is marketing a line just for homeland security. One is being built for the Republican National Convention in New York.
"Most of your larger agencies are going to them because it's just become a necessity with the growth and the responsibility placed on law enforcement since 9/11," said Cpl. Todd Anthony of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
Hillsborough bought its $300,000 mobile command vehicle in December with grant money.
Marty Organ, director of marketing for LDV Inc., said that since 9/11, demand for vehicles is up.
"The bids are at an all-time high," Organ said.
In St. Petersburg, police have been working since August 2001 to get a vehicle for crisis calls, special events and natural disasters.
The city started with an old bread truck, then moved to a newspaper delivery truck and then the converted ambulance.
Gone are the days of scribbling secret SWAT plans on placards fastened to the side of the ambulance, a 1982 Custom Deluxe Chevy. The new mobile command vehicle has erase boards as cabinet faces.
St. Petersburg isn't the only city with state-of-the-art equipment.
Clearwater police spent $700,000 on their vehicle two years ago. It has a separate television production studio, telescopic cameras, bunks and a kitchen.
