The Vancouver Police Department is getting a three-ton, bullet-and-small explosives-proof armoured vehicle, which Chief Constable Jamie Graham said is part of preparations for the 2010 Olympics.

“This is an extremely valuable tool,” Graham told the Vancouver police board during its regular meeting today (March 14).

The vehicle will be used by the department’s Emergency Response Team, which is the equivalent of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams in other police forces.

Graham informed the board that it will be purchased by the Vancouver Police Foundation, a registered charity, at no cost to the city.

According its most recent filings with Canada Revenue Agency, the Vancouver Police Foundation board includes some of the wealthiest citizens in the province, including: Canfor Corp. chairman Peter Bentley, multimillionaire entrepreneur and real-estate investor Joe Segal, former Vancouver police board member Peter Webster, and industrialist Stuart Belkin. Donors are eligible for tax receipts.

The foundation's chair is Ron Cliff, a former chairman of BC Gas (now Terasen), and other directors include former BC Gas CEO Bob Kadlec, Rocky Mountaineer founder Peter Armstrong, Century Plaza Hotel owner Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia, and Conservative Senator and former cop Gerry St. Germaine.

In a presentation before the board, Sgt. Norm Webster described this hardware as a “rescue vehicle” intended to “protect our citizens”.

He said that it can stop munitions from firearms “commonly found in Vancouver”, withstand explosions, and continue to run even with deflated tires.

Webster also said that the four-wheel-drive BearCat-type truck can transport a full complement of 10 ERT members, adding that it is actually an “unassuming vehicle”.

He pointed out before the board that Vancouver will be the first city in Canada to deploy such a vehicle for police operations.

Graham and Webster didn’t tell the board what kind of situations before and during the Olympics will require the use of this vehicle. Anti-poverty, environmental, and aboriginal groups have vowed to step up protests against the games.