In 2019, former Plant City Police Department (PCPD) Chief Ed Duncan defended the purchase of a BearCat armored tactical vehicle, funded with a $335,000 allotment approved by the city commission, saying: “during hurricanes, when all first responder vehicles are called off the roads when winds exceed 45 to 50 mph, the vehicle could be safely deployed and assist in emergencies.”
It’s almost as if he could see into the future.
At 6:55 p.m. last Wednesday night, as Hurricane Ian ripped a destructive path through Florida and powerful winds in excess of 50 mph battered Plant City, it became unsafe for rescue vehicles to be dispatched to assist residents with their emergencies. However, just because it was unsafe for emergency vehicles to be deployed didn’t mean that residents stopped requiring assistance.
A desperate 911 call was made by friends of Plant City resident Amanda Guido, almost eight months pregnant, who needed immediate medical attention. She was having contractions that were five minutes apart. A seasoned mother who had already birthed several children, she knew she needed to get to the hospital.
Cue the 19,000-pound BearCat, built on a Ford F550 commercial chassis, able to withstand 230+ mph wind speeds and is impact-resistant up to 40,000 pounds.
The vehicle and several first responders, including PCPD Captain Robert McLellan, SWAT team members Sergeant Chad Carpenter and Officer Austin Johnson and Fire Department Deputy Chief Dustin Hill, braved the battering winds and rain and went to the woman’s aid. A paramedic evaluated the pregnant woman and determined she needed to be taken to South Florida Baptist Hospital. The woman was carefully loaded into the BearCat, which features bench-style seating, and, because traffic was nonexistent on the deserted roads, delivered the patient safely to the hospital in minutes.
McLellan supposed the vehicle must have surprised the home’s occupants, who were expecting an ambulance. Hill said that because it was nighttime and the power had gone out on the street, the pregnant woman didn’t get a good look at the vehicle that had taken her to the hospital until they reached its generator-lit exterior. As she was getting out of the vehicle, he told her to turn around and look at the vehicle that delivered her to the hospital. “The look of shock and surprise on her face told us that she wasn’t expecting her chariot to be an armored vehicle,” he said. “She was really surprised.”
Guido was thankful the city had a vehicle that could withstand the strong winds and help her get to the hospital. “I couldn’t have walked,” she joked.
While it would have been a fun birth story, she was treated by doctors and given medication to stop labor. “They told me the baby’s lungs needed to develop further since my due date isn’t until November 6th,” she said.
Not long after the woman had been safely dropped off at the hospital, they received another 911 call. This time, a 74-year-old Hispanic woman, sheltering at Marshall Middle School, had fallen and hit her head. The vehicle and its medical team were deployed to the school, where they assessed her injury and drove her to the hospital. The shelter’s medic, Noe Guillen, who had only been on the job eight days, rode along to act as a translator for the woman, who only spoke Spanish.
PCPD Chief James Bradford said before the emergency vehicle was deployed, a thorough risk analysis was conducted, and conversations were had about the risk versus the reward.
“We didn’t want the rescue mission to fail and create more problems but based on the assessment we decided that we could safely deploy the vehicle,” said Bradford.
Hill said the results show the positive impact the BearCat has on Plant City residents, especially the two residents (three if you count the baby) who received prompt medical treatment.
“When it’s your mom, your dad, your sister, you want somebody to come help and the vehicle helped us make that happen safely,” remarked Hill. “At the end of the day, it’s all about the service we provide to the community.”