Cameron County gets surplus Humvee for patrolling

The Cameron County Sheriff’s Department has a new tool to help fight crime along the Texas-Mexico border and it comes courtesy of the U.S. Army – a retired Humvee.

Sheriff Omar Lucio said his department received the vehicle about a week ago and has been using it for patrolling along the banks of the Rio Grande. It will also be used to patrol county beaches and for rescue efforts, he said.

“We’ve been meaning to get one of those for a long, long time but they are very expensive,” Lucio said.

U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, helped acquire the vehicle, at no cost to local taxpayers.

Poe sits on the House Judiciary subcommittees on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law Membership and on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security.

The Humvee became available through the Department of Defense’s Reutilization and Marketing Service program. The Department of Defense has first priority for using surplus items, but after that they can be transferred to other federal agencies or donated to state and local governments, according to DOD’s website.

The Humvee has an estimated value of $47,000.

Cameron County is one of six Texas counties along the Mexican border to receive the military vehicles. The others are Brewster, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Maverick and Webb counties, Poe’s office said.

“Our border sheriffs are outmanned and out-equipped,” Poe said in a press release. “Since the federal government continues to fail us, I am doing everything I can to help them protect the border and the people of the great state of Texas.”

Poe visited the border area a few months ago to see what local law enforcement encounters on a regular basis, Lucio said. The congressman was driven along the Rio Grande and out to Boca Chica beach near the mouth of the river to see the proximity of Mexico.

“He got a first hand look of what is going on,” Lucio said.

At times, the mouth of the Rio Grande is a hot spot where illegal drugs and undocumented immigrants are found, authorities said.

“This is just the first of many more opportunities that I plan to continue to serve our law enforcement agencies,” Poe said. “There is no excuse for any United States law enforcement agency to have inferior resources than the enemy.”

Poe went on to say that Texas sheriffs do an admirable job with the resources they have.

“I will continue every effort to see that they get what they need to do the job the federal government won’t,” he said.

Lucio said his department “felt very, very good” to hear that Cameron County had been selected by Poe to receive one of the Humvees.

The Cameron County Humvee came with about 7,000 miles on it. The sheriff estimates the county might be able to use it for eight to 10 years.