Thanks but no tanks, Keene!

by | Jan 28, 2012 | Announcement, Copblock, New Hampshire, Police, Politics | 29 comments

The residents of Keene have so far said no to the fear peddlers.
May their stand give all of us the courage to do the same.
-Robert Koehler

The purpose of this post is to share all BEARCAT-related content.
Transparency and the free flow of information are good.

Need to get up-to-speed about this issue?

Watch the excellent coverage in the video below or read the post:
Cowardly City Councilors Ignore the People, Vote for BEARCAT 9-4

Still interested in learning more? Below you’ll find:

  • an overview of Keene police chief Ken Meola and some Keene city councilors attempt to quietly acquire an armored vehicle
  • background of the not-too-surprising pushback from Keene residents
  • related videos and documents, including the 11-page grant request
  • a list of links to related content, and more

(BEARCAT stands for Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck)

The grant request to obtain the vehicle submitted to the the federal Department of Homeland Security was signed by:

  • John Maclean – city manager, 603.357.9804 – jmaclean@ci.keene.nh.us
  • Kenneth J Meola – police chief, 603.357.9813 – kmeola@ci.keene.nh.us
  • Martha Landry – finance director, 603.357.9805 – mlandry@ci.keene.nh.us

Keene BEARCAT Grant

*note page-by-page summary at bottom of post

BEARCAT-RELATED CONTENT

in chronological order:

HELP KEEP KEENE BEARCAT-FREE!

  • Join us at city hall to oppose the BEARCAT at the full city council meeting, Thursday, March 1st, 7pm [Facebook event]
  • Feeds below will stream city council meeting March 1st at 7pm (though stream may start earlier):
  • Call city councilors contact name/numbers here. If we turn around this vote, we can make history by being the only place to ever refuse a BEARCAT, and perhaps we could start a trend of more refusals around the country
  • Download the anti-BEARCAT flyer and distribute
  • Sign the online petition and share your thoughts on the issue as a comment
  • Share resources with those in your sphere: http://FreeKeene.com/BEARCAT & http://ThanksButNoTanks.com
  • Contact Mike Clark (involvement given below) if you want to help collect signatures on the ground or in another capacity. He’ll get you petition sheets or help you implement your idea keep Keene tank-free.
    via email: flesh dot clarky at gmail dot com
    via Facebook
  • Join us at city hall, February 2nd to “Oppose the BEARCAT” at the Full City Council Meeting, 7-10pm [Facebook event]
  • Join us at city hall for public comment at Finance Committee Meeting, Thursday, Feb. 9th, 5:30pm [Facebook event]
  • Join us at city hall to Oppose the BEARCAT the Full City Council Meeting, Thursday, Feb. 16th 7pm [Facebook event]

 

As Keene residents explain in the video below, there’s simply no need for such a militarized vehicle in beautiful Keene.


 

Watch: 24-minute video from packed Feb. 9th public comment session, includes quote by Keene mayor Kendall Lane “We’re going to have our own tank!”

Sign the online petition to keep Keene BEARCAT-free!

Learn more:

An Open Letter to Keene Residents:

Hello neighbor,

I know you’re busy but you will probably conclude that it’s worth your time to continue reading.

Many of us choose to call Keene home simply because it’s such an awesome community. That might not be as true in the near future if the Keene Police Department takes delivery of a BEARCAT (an armored vehicle) thanks to grant from the federal Department of Homeland Security.

City councilors essentially said ‘why not take it, it’s free!’ Yet you, the taxpayer, are now on the hook for its maintenance and operational costs. I bet you can think of many things you’d rather spend your money on in lieu of being saddled with the upkeep for an armored vehicle.

Do you want to live in a police state? Do you really believe that Keene “needs” a BEARCAT? Can you point to even one incident that has happened in town that warrants its acquisition? And why is the DHS, whose mission is aimed to “prevent terrorism” marketing the armored vehicle as a “rescue” vehicle?

Armored tanks have absolutely no proper place in a peaceful society such as we have here in Keene. The corrupt federal government would like for you to believe that your level of safety is somehow higher when the police have military equipment at their disposal, but the fact is that by far the most common use of such equipment remains to be the issuance of warrants against peaceful individuals; often accompanied by the destruction of their property, the death of their pets, and their own imprisonment, all without even the benefit of a fair trial beforehand. Additionally, such raids have resulted in needless deaths not only of the suspects involved, but of police officers, children, and innocent bystanders.

This is the future that the continued militarization of police promises for the city of Keene.

Many police departments in the country now have helicopters and drones in their arsenal of military equipment which is appropriate to nothing but war and death. Where does it end, and where do we as a peaceful group of people stand up and say NO to this tyranny?

Join us in saying “Thanks, but no tanks”

Reaction to the BEARCAT:
From Keene resident Heika Courser:
Please don’t hide behind the guise of this being an all-terrain vehicle that will assist in the once in a great while rescues that occur. BEARCAT stands for Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck. Again, utter nonsense!
From area resident Craig Dallas Rice:

Homeland Security says we better beware. So do the Keene police. So does the Keene City Council. But what do the citizens of Keene say? . . .

I do not believe that we really need this vehicle in Keene. The Monadnock Region is one of the safest areas in the world. As it stands now, the police and rescue personnel do what they do with adequate and modern equipment. They can continue to improve the way they handle situations in the future without military-style enhancement. Policing will still involve the legal use of violence in some situations but if they need a tank or an airstrike, I guess it is still better to call the National Guard.

If we the people still have any say, I hope we will be heard to say no to the BearCat.

From Grafton, NH resident John Connel:

As Pastor of Peaceful Assembly Church (organized in Grafton, NH), I urge you to please STOP this madness. You are taking us down the same path as all those “evil” governments in history. I could die of a broaken heart caused by what this country is becoming, and that the Military Industrial Compex is now even pushing its’ way into local governments.

They told us about those “evil” governments “over there” – particularly those in our own lifetime. So, we all know where this path leads.
When the history is written of us, let it say that the good folks in Keene, NH helped us step back from the brink. Please – let it say that.
I pray for you all.
Peace.

The video below was made by LENCO, the manufacturer of the BEARCAT vehicle. LENCO pulled their video on/around Feb. 7th in reaction to the unwanted attention their pending BEARCAT delivery to Keene PD had attracted. The video below was ripped prior to that and re-uploaded to another YouTube channel.


Mike Clark, born 27 years ago in Keene, long-time No Job 2 Odd employee and drummer of Keene-based Aggressive by Nature, has spearheaded the charge to say: Thanks but no tanks, Keene!

He wrote and printed petitions imploring the Keene city council to reconsider their pro-tank decision and allow for public discussion on the matter. In just a few days Clark personally collected almost 150 signatures, which he brought to the city council meeting.

Per his conversations with city public officials, Clark expected that by presenting the petitions now, he’d secure a spot on the agenda of the following week’s finance committing meeting. Instead, Keene mayor Kendall W. Lane took the request as “information,” effectively shelving any public discussion. That was on January 12th.

On January 26th Clark’s own father – Terry Clark (the lone city council member that didn’t vote in favor of the BEARCAT), put in a motion to reconsider. Apparently a request made by a city council member carried more weight with the council than did a request submitted by a concerned resident as it was agreed to have public discussion:

-on February 2nd, the issue will be raised at the 7pm city council meeting.

-on February 9th, public comment will occur at the 5:30pm finance committee meeting.

Make it clear that Keene should remain BEARCAT-free!

 

Thanks but no tanks, Keene!

BEARCAT Flyer (double-sided)

  • pg. 1 –
    the “Grant Application Instructions” from the Dept. of Homeland Security
    Additional guidelines could be obtained through the URL indicated: a FEMA page
    Also provided, a checklist “for your convenience in preparing, completing and submitting your grant application”
    At the bottom of the page contact information is listed as:
    NH Department of Safety – Grants Management Unit
    Commissioner’s Office-Second Floor
    33 Hazen Drive
    Concrod, NH 03305
    which, according to this site, would mean the grant request was handled by either John Barthelmes, Pamela Urban-Morin or Robert Pragoff
  • pg. 2 –
    “Lead Applicant Agency” was identified as the “Keene Police Department”
    “Partnering Cities/Counties/Agencies” listed “All Cheshire County Law Enforcement Agencies”
    House and Senate district were requested
    “Project Name” was identified as “Keene/Cheshire County Specialized CBRNE/WMD Rescue Vehicle” with an “Amount” of “$285,993”
    Later the “CBRNE/WMD” was further detailed as “prevention, protection, response, recovery”
  • pg. 3 –
    the name, title, contact information and signatures of three involved with the grant request:
    John Maclean (city manager), 603.357.9804 – jmaclean@ci.keene.nh.us
    Kenneth J Meola (police chief), 603.357.9813 – kmeola@ci.keene.nh.us
    Martha Landry (finance direction), 603.357.9805 – mlandry@ci.keene.nh.us
  • pg. 4 –
    The start of the grant submitted for the Keene/Cheshire County Specialized CBRNE/WMD Rescue Vehicle
    One typical sentence: “The terrorism threat is far reaching and often unforeseen. . .”
  • pg. 5 –
    The grant submission continues
    Focus shifts to natural disaster and “situations” when a BEARCAT “was needed”
    The solidification of relationships between Cheshire County public safety agencies due to the shared nature of the BEARCAT
  • pg. 6 –
    The grant submission continues
    Focus shifts to reasons why Keene might experience a terrorist event including “numerous private manufacturing facilities that deal with multi-government/military agencies . . .
    The collaboration between agencies is again stressed
  • pg. 7 –
    The “Scope of work (30 words or less)”: “The scope of this project is the purchase of the LENCO BEARCAT Specialized Mission CBRNE Rescue Vehicle as outlined in the attached LENCO quote: 7741-1.”
  • pg. 8 –
    “Section III: Project” posed questions to be answered by grant-requesting party
  • pg. 9 –
    “Section III: Project” continued with questions answered
    It’s outlines that LENCO will train one Keene police department employee, who will in-turn train others
    The BEARCAT is to be picked-up by four “department members”
    Insurance would be through the “City of Keene”
    Keene police department is responsible for upkeep costs
    Services will be done by someone “from the departments’ tactical team line item.”
    It’s built on a Ford F-550 chassis that will be serviced by the “City of Keene Fleet Services”
    Vehicle lifespan is “estimated to be 20 years”
  • pg. 10 –
    “Section III: Project” continued with questions answered
    The question “Does this project include multi-jurisdiction explosive attack prevention planning?” was answered with “YES. This vehicle will allow multi-jurisdictional planning to begin . . .:
    “Law Enforcement Funding Amount” is listed as “$283,993”
  • pg. 11 –
    “Local Funding Amount” is listed at “$0.00”

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IanFreemanTheTyrant

Ian Freeman refuses to take responsability for what his cohorts do under HIS name. He is not fit to lead anybody. Pete and Ademo tell the truth and act with honour. Ian is a money grubbing tyrant.

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Bill

What does that have to do with the fact that the Bearcat is NOT a tank?

Oh yea, the fact that FreeKeeners are Lying Hypocrites…….

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david

i already told you it IS A TANK BILL..YOU'RE WRONG ON THIS ONE

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david

bill,

i'm sorry you keep being wrong about the tank…..maybe if you look at the pictures closer that would help

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Julia

This is awful. Militarization of the police is never a good thing. But I would argue that perhaps it's a sign that the civil-disobedience-arrested-for-the-sake-of-bringing-laws-to-light tactics aren't exactly resulting in what they were thought to result in? I mean, when the number of arrests in a certain town have gone way, way up in the past five years the town government and townspeople will probably not say, "Hey, these are some really crappy laws we have on the books; let's get rid of them and we'll see the number of arrests drop," but rather, "Hey, the number of arrests keeps going… Read more »

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david

julia,

you're critical of civ dis .

Got it.

If you are equating the tank with fk …Then i guess you could rationalize getting a machine gun for flys.

You DO want to be taken as a serious person,don't you?

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david

julia,

You're always negatively critical….. If you weren't always negatively critical . I would give your neg critiques more consideration .. And what is implied in your consistent neg critiques is that YOU know the right way.

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Julia

No, I'm just pointing out what I observe, and hoping some kind of intelligent, in-depth discussion can come out of it.

Unfortunately, that rarely happens. Kind of shows how dogmatic NH's libertarians are. They can't look inside themselves for all their talk of "personal responsibility".

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IanFreemanTheTyrant

Julia makes many good points. People dont listen to her though. She is too "negative", i never knew that saying something negative excluded you from making a good point or discussing it.

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name

david,

You’re always idiotically stupid….. If you weren’t always idiotically stupid . I would give your idiotic stupidity more consideration .. And what is implied in your consistent idiotic stupidity is that YOU know the right way.

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Harry

Hello Bloggers; The first issue to understand “Grants’ is tax money, nothing is free. Some how, some where taxpayers pay have to pay the $284,000 dollars. If through national debt it will take generations to pay for this vehicle. This tank won’t be paid for until years after its life expectancy. Either payment out of your pocket or debt “ad infinitum”. Four officers to pick up the tank? How many hours involved? Any overtime? How much overtime to fill in the vacancy for these four officers? If no overtime to fill this void, indicates the KPD is over staffed. Budget… Read more »

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matt

Can't wait for this truck to show up at the KAC, to stop Ian and others from driving "piss drunk" and to stop the numerous fights and neighborly disruption that occurs there – well, at least according to one of his own cohorts on the blog/posting that Ian quickly deleted after she wrote that yesterday. Dirty Censor. The hypocrisy is almost painful – if it wasn't so funny.

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david

julia,

You're smarter than the trolls here…but you get lumped in with them….

Do you like being lumped in with them : they are consistently negative,as you are.

When someone is CONSISTENTLY negative their NEGATIVITY trumps any valid or accurate criticism they may have.. And all their talk of constructive criticism becomes fallacious

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IanFreemanTheTyrant

Do people see who Ian Freeman truly is? He is a controlling sociopath. His messianic complex will destroy the FSP.

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SMASH CAPITALISM

It wont have to be paid for if money is destroyed.

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enslave keene

Down with david!

Up with the tank!!

Up with the tank!!!

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City Councilor

It isn't a tank – it's a truck. A big truck. A big truck with yes, armor plate, and high-tech equipment. It is not a tank.

And it's a done deal, so come out to the meeting and mewl.

Keene is getting a Lenco BearCat largely because of "Free Keene", and the "Free State Project", which will be on the F.B.I.'s list of Domestic Terroristic Organizations for 2013.

That is all.

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Julia

Something tells me the Bearcat is not the biggest of FK/FSP's problems. Take a look at this recent article trying to (once again) connect NH's libertarians to the Koch brothers:

http://crooksandliars.com/kenneth-quinnell/new-ha…

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david

i dont care if the kock bros have anything to do with fsp……it dont matter to me…I would think of it as encouragement to the fsp etc…

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david

but thats good searching julia..i do like papantonio though….but to me its encouragement not string pulling

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david

maybe Im wrong…

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alexander berkman

Dave, you're the kind of sycophantic kiss-ass that fools people into believing sociopaths like Ayn Rand have any sort of validity. It seems fitting that your avatar depicts a herd animal.

I live in the same neighborhood as the KAC. Everything that was said here about how much of a shit-show that place is true. They're not freedom fighters, they're all over privileged white kids getting shitfaced and squabbling with each other in the name of "liberty".

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david

alexander berkman ,

whats wrong with being white?

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david

people can't help being white you know

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david

ITS NOT THEIR FAULT THEY'RE WHITE!

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david

i was just playing…lol 🙂

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trackback

[…] For more information visit: http://freekeene.com/2012/01/28/bearcat/ […]

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trackback

[…] debating if they need an armored assault vehicle…. the government wants it, the people don't. Thanks but no tanks, Keene! – Free Keene wa:do __________________ mispellers of the world 'untie'! wa:do Cherokee for 'thank […]

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trackback

[…] you to http://freekeene.com/2012/01/28/bearcat/ for this information.  Good […]

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trackback

[…] For more information visit: http://freekeene.com/2012/01/28/bearcat/ […]

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trackback

[…] appears from the Cheshire TV video from December 8th, 2011 where they were discussing the BEARCAT, that then-city-councilor Kendall Lane leans to Mitch […]

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trackback

[…] appears from the Cheshire TV video from December 8th, 2011 where they were discussing the BEARCAT, that then-city-councilor Kendall Lane leans to Mitch […]

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Dennis Moran

Mike Clark,

Just read the story of Keene.

You are a great American. Thank you for what you are doing.

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trackback

[…] Is Offering Free Military Hardware To Every Police Department In The US ThanksButNoTanks.com Help keep Keene Bearcat-free! This entry was posted in Activism, News. Bookmark the permalink. ← The Secrets To Filming […]

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starchild

I just sent the folllowing email to the three Keene officials listed in the above blog (city manager, police chief, and finance director):

I understand the three of you have requested an armored tank-like vehicle from the federal Department of Homeland Security. I ask you to please withdraw that request. Keene should not become a government militarized zone. It is unnecessary and intimidating to local residents, besides being a waste of taxpayer money. People do not need or want tanks in their streets!

Love & Liberty,
((( starchild )))

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trackback

[…] does a small town like Keene, New Hampshire need a tank like […]

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trackback

[…] year, the Lenco BEARCAT made international headlines for causing much controversy in Keene, NH, as many protested against the city’s acceptance of a Federal Department of Homeland Security […]

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Fascist Anarchist

Bearcats are for dirty hippies! This is the future of “crowd control” . 😉 http://armystrongstories.com/blog-assets/chris-lecron/images/JLTV.jpg

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trackback

[…] Sounds like a command structure to me. (For more information on DHS, and especially its “fusion centers,” see this study from SourceWatch. Note that there’s also a Bearcat just up the road from Concord in Manchester (so Jeebus, can’t they save a few bucks and just share?)). Ditto Keene. […]

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