scorecardTake a look inside 'The Rook' - an armored vehicle SWAT teams use to tear through vehicles, block an active shooter, or bust through a riot
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Take a look inside 'The Rook' - an armored vehicle SWAT teams use to tear through vehicles, block an active shooter, or bust through a riot

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.

Take a look inside 'The Rook' - an armored vehicle SWAT teams use to tear through vehicles, block an active shooter, or bust through a riot

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.

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.

 

 

The Rook also comes with a vehicle extraction tool, which can move or immobilize a vehicles.

The Rook also comes with a vehicle extraction tool, which can move or immobilize a vehicles.

Before the shield is implemented, however, The Rook uses another attachment, the hydraulic breaching ram, seen below, to breach the structure.

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.

It can even be raised 11 feet into the air, allowing officers to enter buildings from the first and second floors.

Here's what the deployment platform looks like when attached to the Caterpillar.

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It has two locking gun ports, four sliding gun ports and four bullet proof glass sight ports.

It has two locking gun ports, four sliding gun ports and four bullet proof glass sight ports.

Up to four officers can stand behind the shield, which also has a sliding door so that officers can enter a structure once breached.

Up to four officers can stand behind the shield, which also has a sliding door so that officers can enter a structure once breached.

One of the attachments is the armored deployment platform.

One of the attachments is the armored deployment platform.

The Rook comes with four attachments, seen in the brochure below.

The Rook comes with four attachments, seen in the brochure below.

It comes with an armored hatch allowing the operator to escape above if needed.

It comes with an armored hatch allowing the operator to escape above if needed.

Here's a view from the inside.

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The driver operates the The Rook with the joysticks inside.

The driver operates the The Rook with the joysticks inside.

Here's a shot of San Bernardino Police taking down Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik with The Rook.

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Here's the Inside Edition video:

 

It retails for about $315,000 and has been sold to 25 police departments so far

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

It was designed by a man named Jeremy Eckdahl about 10 years ago, but wasn't marketed much until Ring Power Corporation bought the design 5 years ago.

It was designed by a man named Jeremy Eckdahl about 10 years ago, but wasn

Source: Shaun Mitchell, Ring Power Corporation. 

The Rook is built off a Caterpillar chassis that has been modified with armor, night vision, thermal imaging, multiple cameras, a wireless remote control and four attachments.

The Rook is built off a Caterpillar chassis that has been modified with armor, night vision, thermal imaging, multiple cameras, a wireless remote control and four attachments.

The Rook is named after the chess piece, meaning checkmate, Miller said. 

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