Attention all U.S., ATS Members Please be on the Lookout for Unmarked Police Recreational Vehicles

Attention all U.S., ATS Members Please be on the Lookout for Unmarked Police Recreational Vehicles

I would not normally post something like this except for the possible significance today’s London G-20 Conference might have here in the United States in its immediate aftermath.

Late this afternoon I was walking from the local grocery store back to home, while passing by my town’s Police Station I noticed something radically out of place.

I live in a small upscale incorporated community in North Miami Beach, FL. The town itself is part of the greater Miami-Dade County Metro Area but has it’s own small city government and police force. The town itself is only one mile long by one mile wide fronting the ocean to the east and a branch of the inter-coastal waterway to the west.
The town has an approximately 24 officers and 4 detectives police force, that because of the upscale nature of the town is relatively crime free, and the police force basically focuses most of its effort on speeding enforcement and other finable offences. The force’s vehicles normally include 2 ATV’s for patrolling the beach, 2 Harley Davidson Police Motorcycles, 16 marked squad cars, and 4 unmarked detective cars.

As I was walking by the parking lot next to the police station where a good portion of the vehicles are normally parked I noticed a plain white Recreational Vehicle with no markings or artwork or insignias on the front, sides or rear of the vehicle. It was windowless in back, had two sky lights on top of the rear compartment and a boomerang communications antenna situated between the skylights, similar to the kind normally seen on the back of limousines.

It caught my attention immediately because of it being in an official parking lot, further because it had no markings and further still and most of all because, a squad of uniformed officers were offloading cargo out of the back of it.

Now that in and of itself might have not caused me to post this, what did cause me to though was how all the officers were dressed.

Instead of their normal dress blues, they were all wearing black military style combat fatigues and boots and all heavily armed with side arms, shotguns and automatic assault style weapons. The town has no Swat Team and is able to call on Miami-Dade Police for any backup they might need to augment the force or an investigation.

The cargo they were off loading seemed to be just folding tables of the variety used for meetings and dinners that can sit 8 to 14 people.

What really struck me though as above and beyond the norm is that an officer from inside the station was walking out of the station to help them and to my alarm said something that indicated he was not with them where ever they were returning or coming from. Why that was first alarming was the fact that he too was dressed in black military style fatigues and combat boots. What was further alarming is he shouted across to the officers carrying some tables “Hey which one of you has the Bazookas?” It was asked in a joking humorous tone but obviously an indication of the heavy battle dress they were all wearing.

This is a police force where normally a third of the officers are in shorts and knit shirts, and the rest in casual dress blues, or motor cycle pants, white shirt, and boots.

It seemed almost certain that every member of the force was dressed similarly and as I walked by the station it self I was further alarmed to see every squad car and every detective car parked in the house.

It seemed like more than just a training exercise and it seemed like they had acquired the unmarked recreational multipurpose vehicle and additional mobile furnishings for something all related.

Any ATS members living near local police stations might want to check and see if any similar type of activity is happening right now today or tonight in your area.

It might be isolated but it might not be, it’s a lot of firepower and ordinance for a bunch of guys who normally just hand out speeding tickets and work on preventing sunbathers from getting burned.

Thanks…

Protoplasmic Traveler

maybe thats how the resale illegal drugs are going around..unmarked recreational vehicles?

second line..

Originally posted by mastermind77
maybe thats how the resale illegal drugs are going around..unmarked recreational vehicles?

second line..

I have never seen anything like it myself. I have seen similiar marked vehicles identifying them as police vehicles and which department or force, but never unmarked like that.

Those guys were all armed for bear too. Very unusual in this neighborhood.

Thanks for the post.

The timing of this strikes me as very odd.

I wonder if there is a banking holiday involved in our near future as a result of what may have transpired in London today?

I definately think it's worth it for anyone who can check to see if there is anything out of the ordinary happening with the police in their community do so.

"Instead of their normal dress blues, they were all wearing black military style combat fatigues and boots and all heavily armed with side arms, shotguns and automatic assault style weapons."

It is interesting that you found their attire odd. For the past 27 months, the Montreal Police Union and the City of Montreal have been involved in a heated labor dispute. As a form of protest, all Montreal Police Officers have resorted to wearing combat fatigues. Here is the story with a photo (notice the riot shotgun over the shoulder):

www.montrealgazette.com...

Nobody here in Montreal has found this odd, has said a word about it or even cares. In fact, I find the combat fatigues a lot more fashionable and functional than the standard stuffy police uniform. But then again, Miami is not Montreal, a city with a rich history of rioting.

[edit on 2-4-2009 by SphinxMontreal]

Nobody here in Montreal has found this odd, has said a word about it or even cares. In fact, I find the combat fatigues a lot more fashionable and functional than the standard stuffy police uniform. But then again, Miami is not Montreal, a city with a rich history of rioting.

Montreal is a very cosmopolitan and historical city. It's also very cold most of the time.

Black is not a popular color in tropical Miami except for those looking to be noticed while enjoying the night life. Black retains heat more than any other color.

This particular department, The Town of Surfside, is a beach community, a small one, I am surprised to see the officers even have such uniforms, especially since they likely have to purchase them at their own expense?

It simply isn't normal for around here.

If I was in Montreal I wouldn't bat an eye, you are right. Though I still might wonder about an unmarked Recreational Vehicle that looks like it can double as a paddy wagon or conveiance/command center.

Call me paranoid...just don't call me unobservant!

Thanks for posting a reply.

Maybe this vehicle is waiting to be marked. Also, I do not find it uncommon that a police vehicle would be unmarked anyway. When I am in California, I often see CHP vehicles that are unmarked. Some of these vehicles are also not what one would normally consider to be the type used by police.

Originally posted by tamusan
Maybe this vehicle is waiting to be marked. Also, I do not find it uncommon that a police vehicle would be unmarked anyway. When I am in California, I often see CHP vehicles that are unmarked. Some of these vehicles are also not what one would normally consider to be the type used by police.

I used to live in California and the CHP did have lots of unmarked police cars, so did the LAPD and the LA Sheriffs Department.

They didn't have unmarked recreational vehicles.

Of course the City of Miami, Miami-Dade County, North Miami Beach, Hialeah, Miami Gardens, Cutler Ridge and Homestad Police Department have unmarked patrol cars as well.

My little town though does not even have an unmarked patrol car...it's a pretty big leap to an unmarked RV. It really is out of place.

Thanks for the post.

I think this is an important thread.
We should all have our eyes open for what seems out of place.
It is imperative that we are responsible for sharing and reporting to one another -
those things that are right in front of us.
It isn't about being paranoid - it is about being aware.
Thanks.

Our department has an RV in the parking lot. It’s been there for about nine months. It just sits there, never really thought any thing about it. They also put up a thirty by thirty shed type building next to it.

Its got no markings. An unmarked police Rv I would never see that coming. I wonder if they would try to pull me over with it when I am on my bike? I would most likely blow them off and lose them with out ever realizing they were chasing me.


I was in our local district court (New England) last week. I had to go down stairs where there are no courtrooms. There are very wide hallways that open up into waiting rooms. The walls were all lined ceiling high with cases of bottled water. I had to wait so I started counting cases. I got up to two thousand before I had to go and there were a lot left. I defiantly thought that was weird.

I just did a search of police rv's and learned that they are most likely used as mobile command centers, mobile communication centers or mobile crime labs. From your description of your small town, I wonder why they would need a mobile anything. I also looked at some manufacturers of these items for police and determined that they roll off the lot exactly how you describe the one you saw. My curiousity is peaked a little simply because I wonder why your community needs one. Maybe someone found a way to waste some of that homeland security money.

Originally posted by Plasma applicator
The walls were all lined ceiling high with cases of bottled water. I had to wait so I started counting cases. I got up to two thousand before I had to go and there were a lot left. I defiantly thought that was weird.

Yep - Sounds like emergency water to me...
Which emergency will that be - I wonder.

The State of Florida confiscates many vehicles every year from everything from motor homes to motorcycles.

Once the felons are convicted, often property gained by illegal means, (drug dealing, transport, etc.,) these vehicles are owned by the State of Florida.

Different agencies use what they want, and the others are sold at auction.

Motor homes provide mobile offices, surveillance vehicles, and group transport.

They may have been participating in or covering an undercover operation nearby.

And the black fatigues?

Functional.

I know here in Texas all traffic patrol cars that pull you over must be marked. Be it they are in an almost transparent silver or gray to be almost camouflaged. This is almost impossible to see from a distance. I believe this is true in most states except I used to live in NYC and the NYPD have undercover cabs that are indistinguishable from the real thing, and they will pull you over. They even pick up passengers to bust em doing bad things. I have seen them roll up on people smokin the herb also.

Why don't you just go to the police station and ask them what it is?

I can think of a dozen valid reasons for the vehicle to be there. Don't assume it belongs to Surfside.

Originally posted by spinkyboo
I think this is an important thread.
We should all have our eyes open for what seems out of place.
It is imperative that we are responsible for sharing and reporting to one another -
those things that are right in front of us.
It isn't about being paranoid - it is about being aware.
Thanks.

I think it's an important thing to do too. Especially in light of todays G-20 summit. Many republican law makers swear that they only voted for the first bailout package because democratic leaders insisted that if the bailout did not pass and the first bad day Wall Street had that created a run on the banks would end up causing the government to declare a Banking Holiday and institute Marshall Law.

Life does keep going on one day at a time, but as the most recent bailout has proved, the continued state of the economy and the G-20 today, we really aren't that more secure today than we were last October.

Regular law enforcement because it is law enforcement has no real need to hide when it is doing something out of the ordinary but that doesn't mean that when it is doing something out of the ordinary its not going to lead to something out of the ordinary.

They aren't going to obviously tell us the SHTF tomorrow, or what ever day they might plan for it to hit, so we can all go make a panicked run on the stores and the ATMS.

We might see it coming though if we learn to be observant just by noting things that the establisment especially law enforcement is doing out of the ordinary, and use that little bit of time to individually improve our own conditions for what might then come next.

Thanks for your post!

reply to post by Plasma applicator

Our department has an RV in the parking lot. It’s been there for about nine months. It just sits there, never really thought any thing about it. They also put up a thirty by thirty shed type building next to it.

Very interesting. Sounds like a similar situation of not really a need for one but have one. It would be great if you could check to see if it's been getting a little use lately, maybe as part of a national training exercised being pushed by acredited law enforcement agencies or something.

That's a heck of a lot of water to have on hand, is your area one that gets hit by natural disasters frequently where water comes in handy?

Originally posted by tamusan
I just did a search of police rv's and learned that they are most likely used as mobile command centers, mobile communication centers or mobile crime labs. From your description of your small town, I wonder why they would need a mobile anything. I also looked at some manufacturers of these items for police and determined that they roll off the lot exactly how you describe the one you saw. My curiousity is peaked a little simply because I wonder why your community needs one. Maybe someone found a way to waste some of that homeland security money.

It could be just another way to spend Homeland Security Money and maybe even someway to funnell sweetheart pork to politically connected RV Dealers.

I called a few friends living in other areas of Miami who are familiar with what my town is like and asked them if it made sense to them that my town would have something like this going on and they were all baffled as I was.

It really is oddly out of place here. Hopefully it's just another way to waste taxpayer money.

I think now might be a good time though with everything happening domestically and internationally to keep a close eye on what big brother is up too!

Originally posted by dooper
The State of Florida confiscates many vehicles every year from everything from motor homes to motorcycles.

Once the felons are convicted, often property gained by illegal means, (drug dealing, transport, etc.,) these vehicles are owned by the State of Florida.

Different agencies use what they want, and the others are sold at auction.

Motor homes provide mobile offices, surveillance vehicles, and group transport.

They may have been participating in or covering an undercover operation nearby.

And the black fatigues?

Functional.

One little problem with that though...is why would any self respecting criminal flush with cash buy a windowless RV to see America with? It's plain jane appearance alone makes it suspicious to a trained eye.

The only thing functional about black fatiques on an 85 degree humid sunny day which it was here today in Miami is if you want to function as a humidity machine, or are trying to loose weight.

Excellent additions Doper but women in Miami rarely even wear pantihose or stockings it's so hot and humid most of the time. They were definately dressed up to play Rambo today for some reason. Training I imagine, but training for what?

Originally posted by jsobecky
Why don't you just go to the police station and ask them what it is?

I can think of a dozen valid reasons for the vehicle to be there. Don't assume it belongs to Surfside.

I was tempted to ask them, but decided not too just in case my curiousity wouldn't have been highly appreciated.

I have to confess the reason I was walking back from the store is that in recent months the local police have gotten so agressive ticketing and stopping cars for suspected equipment violations that I rarely drive in my own community anymore unless I have business outside of it, which is not often.

Up until about 6 months to a year ago, Bal Harbour, Bay Harour Isles, and Surfside, each with their own police departments and each neighboring the other would actually go out of their way to keep citizens of those three sister towns from running afoul of the law in any inconvenient or costly fashion.

I have been twice stopped in recent months on exagerated faulty equipment charges that paying the fine online is cheaper to do than taking several hours out of a work day to go down and fight it.

The overall attitude has changed from we really are here to protect you, to we really are here to boss you around and screw you.

Since they do lurk on practically every corner, and are apparently up to no good more and more as of late, why pop up on their Radar?

I am going to recon again later tonight and see if that vehicle is still there though.