The Police Have Themselves an RV

The Sherrif's Department in Richland County, South Carolina, have purchased a new (used) armored personnel carrier for their Special Response Team.

Not a big deal. Lots of departments have armored vehicles for transporting officers on raids, etc. They are great for protecting officers in a high threat environment.

However, what makes this story fascinating is that said Richland County APC has an M2 .50 caliber belt fed machine gun mounted. What in the name of all that is good and holy does a law enforcement agency need with a .50 caliber machine gun? The .50 cal will cause extreme damage to just about anything not armored, and isn't really a 'precise' weapon; it's typically fired by 'walking' the rounds into the target since it lacks sights. Jeez, that's what I want on my street during a raid on a drug house, a deputy literally spraying .50 caliber rounds at a target that said rounds will probably come out the back of!

Here's the media release. And here is another source.