On April 10, Pearland City Council voted unanimously to award a supply contract to purchase breaching tools for every marked Pearland Police Department patrol vehicle from supply store Dana Safety Supply. The $53,480 contract will be used to purchase 120 crowbars and 80 sledgehammers.
Following the May 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, the department conducted several self-assessments of their planned response for active shooter attacks.
As part of the assessments, a six-person committee of current and former SWAT members identified equipment that allows for fast and effective response to an active shooter beyond the standard equipment issued to officers, according to agenda documents.
“We should do everything we can to protect our most valuable resource,” Mayor Kevin Cole said. “I see these as tools to help do that. If we’re in a situation where someone is attacking one of our schools, we can get professional men and women who protect our community every day and do what they need to do to get to our children and protect them even further.”
The breaching tools are effective in that they not only are able to be carried by a single officer, but with proper training would enable officers to gain entry into the majority of barricade scenarios, according to the documents.
“It’s concerning we have to have these, but I appreciate the chief and their team working on training,” Council Member Alex Kamkar said. “The reality is that time counts, and we’ll be putting these in strategic places.”
