Police Chief buys armored vehicle from Littlefield Collection

Wealthy Jacques Littlefield collected many vintage military vehicles including a Panther tank, several M4 Sherman tanks and a SS-1 Scud launcher. He had over 220 military vehicles to his name. He displayed his collection in the town of Los Gatos, a suburb of San Francisco.

Littlefield died in 2009 and a few days ago 160 vehicles of the Littlefield Collection were auctioned off to fund creation of a new museum to display the collection at the Colling’s Foundation, a foundation that restores and flies WW II airplanes.

Chief F.T. Renault of the Stuart City Police Department felt this was a perfect time to augment his SWAT team with an armored vehicle, however with the backlash of citizens against modern armored vehicles like the Bearcat or M-RAP he decided to buy from the Littlefield Collection.

Chief Renault told the Stuart City Council that, “buying from this auction will allow us to find the right choice for this city, not just a castoff from the Army. There are 160 vehicles for sale; we just have to find the right fit for us.” The city council president, Walter Christie, told this reporter that he supported the chief’s idea and commended him for thinking outside the box.

However this idea is not without its critics. Ronald Leclerc, a local community leader, feels this money should be used in other ways, he noted a used Brinks style armored car could be bought with much less money, about $10,000.

In the end the council voted to give the chief $75,000 plus travelling expenses. The chief also has about $30,000 in donations from local community groups.

When asked what he was going to buy Chief Renault said, “I don’t know, I will know it when I see it. But wouldn’t bee a hoot drivin a Sherman Tank down main street?”

This reporter agrees.