The county Emergency Services Unit team will be a lot safer once it takes possession of the first armored vehicle to be procured by the county.

At their Wednesday meeting, the county commissioners approved using up to $331,750 in American Rescue Plan funds to buy a large Humvee-like tactical vehicle that will be outfitted and armored to provide optimum safety for the law enforcement officers who use it.

District Attorney Rich Goldinger told the supervisors that the team, which is basically the county's SWAT team, will use the vehicle in high-intensity situations, such as active shooters, search warrants and applicable Drug and Alcohol Task Force calls.

The armored car's most important feature is that it is bullet-proof.

“It will provide a safe harbor if things get a little dicey,” Goldinger said, “and it will make Butler County a safer place to live.”

He said every police agency in the county has members who are on the county Emergency Services Unit.

Commissioner Kim Geyer said the commissioners met with ESU team leaders, who she said have done exhaustive work finding the right vehicle for the county at the right price.

She said seeing the effort expended by the team leaders on finding an armored vehicle made it easier for the commissioners to approve the purchase.

Steve Bicehouse, the county's emergency services director, said the vehicle can be used by any police agency in the county that needs it in an intense situation.

He said the Emergency Services Unit now averages about two calls per month, so that is the expected amount of use of the vehicle once it is received.

“We have had multiple high-risk incidents in the county,” Bicehouse said.

The vehicle also will be used for training, he said.

Leslie Osche, commissioners chairwoman, called the vehicle “a safe response mechanism” for the county's law enforcement responders.

The armored vehicle is now being built for the county, which bought it through Terradyne Armored Vehicles in Ontario, Canada.