Police will be equipped with eight more heavy-duty armoured vehicles as part of a $6.2 million investment amid what has been labelled a “distressing” increase in attacks on officers across Queensland.
Treasurer Cameron Dick made the announcement for the budget a day after a man was charged with attempted murder over an alleged incident involving officers near Toowoomba.
Two officers at Meringandan tried to stop the driver of a stolen truck and alleged that when they opened the door to the truck the driver accelerated, trapping officers between the truck and a police car before they were thrown across the bonnet and onto the road.
“I think it’s distressing we’re seeing those increased attacks on police,” Police Minister Mark Ryan told reporters.
Police have been involved in a series of shootings over recent months, including last week, when officers shot dead an Indigenous man in Brisbane’s northern suburbs after he allegedly lunged at them with a knife.
The government said the Queensland police’s existing fleet of armoured vehicles, which included three heavily armoured BearCats, had saved the lives of officers.
Queensland police will add a BearCat to their armoured fleet, along with several other lighter vehicles.Credit: Queensland Police Media
The vehicles, which weigh more than nine tonnes and are difficult to manoeuvre, are routinely used in sieges or crimes where officers know offenders have firearms.
Tactical police use the vehicles to move in closer on armed people, with the BearCat offering the strongest ballistic protection for officers.