When asked if this vehicle would lead to the further militarization of police departments, Miller said that it doesn't contain any weapons and simply protects officers, even more so than riot shields.
But University of Tampa Professor Abigail Hall, author of the forthcoming book "Tyranny Comes Home: The Domestic Fate of U.S. Militarism," told Business Insider that it really depends on how law enforcement agencies use it.
Hall said that new equipment like The Rook is often "introduced under the auspices of making police safer," but in reality can incentivize "police to engage in more aggressive behavior."
Ultimately, Hall said, "this type of equipment is very much in line with the recent trend of police being armed with military style equipment."
In late August, President Donald Trump announced that he would roll back regulations, imposed by former President Barack Obama, on certain kinds of military equipment and weapons that police departments could receive from the military.
Obama signed the executive order in 2015 because he worried that certain weapons and equipment, including armored tracked vehicles, could create an "us versus them" mentality, like the events in Ferguson, Mo.
The last attachment is the grapple claw, which can remove fortified doors and burglar bars and even be used to remove debris from natural disasters.
Before the shield is implemented, however, The Rook uses another attachment, the hydraulic breaching ram, seen below, to breach the structure.
The breaching ram delivers 6500 psi of pressure, and is able to break through block walls, reinforced steel doors, wood and concrete.
It can even be raised 11 feet into the air, allowing officers to enter buildings from the first and second floors.
Up to four officers can stand behind the shield, which also has a sliding door so that officers can enter a structure once breached.
Here's a shot of San Bernardino Police taking down Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik with The Rook.
Here's the Inside Edition video:
It retails for about $315,000 and has been sold to 25 police departments so far
The Rook was even used by the San Bernardino Police to take down Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, the married couple who carried out the terrorist attack in 2015.
Here are some other police departments using The Rook:
- New York Police Department
- New Mexico State Police
- Albuquerque Police
- Pennsylvania State Police
- Mississippi State Police
- Jacksonville Police
- Boca Raton Police