If it has treads it has to be a tank.

Via WISTV:

Richland County law enforcement is losing one of its most visible and talked about tools.

Sheriff Leon Lott tells WIS the federal government has ordered his department to return the military surplus tank known as “The Peacemaker.” After about a decade as the most intimidating and controversial vehicle in the sheriff’s fleet, the “Peacemaker” has been permanently parked.

The Peacemaker, more technically identified as an M-113 Armored Personnel Carrier, was obtained by Sheriff Lott after it was offered to the department by the government for free ten years ago. The tank, as it was often called, was just part of surplus equipment for Sheriff Lott. That surplus equipment also includes a couple of helicopters, guns, and the Mine Resistant Armor Protected vehicle, or M-RAP which has been nicknamed “Mojo.”

But it was the tank that became a target for the feds in the aftermath of the Ferguson civil disturbances last year, as the government has moved to strip police departments of gear that makes them look like military forces.

Lott says the government is specifically demanding the return of vehicles with treads or tracks. As opposed to armored vehicles which have wheels and tires, like the M-RAP vehicles, which many departments have including Richland County. The government is also taking back bayonets, camouflage clothing and other equipment, which Richland County does not have.

Lott says the tank would have been valuable for dealing with a standoff like the one at Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs, but it was primarily good for P-R.

“Churches, festivals, schools. You name it, everybody wanted the tank,” Sheriff Lott said. “You know the kids loved climbing on it, going inside. And we have a lot of veterans here with Fort Jackson, very military friendly. Communities of veterans would come and they’d sit there and they’d reminisce and talk to the deputies. It helped us build a relationship with the community because it’d start a conversation going. So it was a very positive thing for us.”

Ironically, it may turn out that an issue of failure to build community relations and bad P-R in Ferguson that prompted this move by federal authorities.

The sheriff’s department had done some modifications on the Peacemaker including adding a battering ram and cameras. Those are being removed now and the vehicle may be shipped out in a matter of days.

Lott says there is an outside chance the tank could end up on display at Fort Jackson.