The RCMP’s Tactical Armoured Vehicle or TAV drew plenty of attention at the Save On Foods in Parksville on Friday.
The huge vehicle, used by the RCMP’s Emergency Response Team, was on display during the Oceanside detachment’s Cram the Cruiser event, a food drive for the Salvation Army.
It attracted much interest and had people climbing inside the vehicle to find out what’s it like to be in a vehicle that weighs some 15,000 kilograms and stands approximately four metres high.
“With that kind of weight, it’s not meant to chase people down or go anywhere too quick,” said Todd Creed, a member of the ERT who drove the vehicle to Parksville from Nanaimo.
Creed said TAV, one of only two of this kind of crime-fighting vehicle on the Island, gets a lot of thumbs up from people.
“Not very many people are used to seeing it,” said Creed. “It’s very interesting to look at and the people are always curious about it.”
Creed said the vehicle is mainly used to transport and protect members of the Emergency Response Team in high-risk situations like those with a threat of a firearm.
“It’s fully armoured,” said Creed. “We use it also in negotiation. We can get negotiators closer to the suspects in a house. We also use it as a rescue vehicle. So if somewhat is hurt, we use it to drive very close and block them from threats “