Police Bearcat draws crowds to community engagement event

Cairns kids have delighted in a rare opportunity to marvel at specialist policing toys including the impressive V8-powered armoured Bearcat.

Cousins Jairus Mara and Avaini Lewis got a good look at the Queensland Police Bearcat armoured vehicle when it was parked on the Cairns Esplanade. Picture: Brendan Radke

Cairns kids have delighted in a rare opportunity to marvel at specialist policing toys including the impressive V8-powered armoured Bearcat.

At the Cairns Esplanade on Friday morning the Bearcat was joined by a police boat, motorcycle and a golf buggy-style city beat vehicle that gave excited children rides around the lagoon area.

The meet-and-greet event was held to mark the official start of Operation Whiskey Legion, which began in Cairns on Thursday.

Massive police fan Jairus Mara with his cousin Avaini Lewis had a great time en route for a swim at the Cairns Lagoon.

Cairns police have hosted a community engagement day, where members of the public can meet the officers and get up close to police vehicles, including buggies, motorbikes, boats and the Bearcat armoured vehicle. Picture: Brendan Radke

“Jairus loves the police,” mother Evelyn Mara said.

“We were planning to bring them down for a swim and then we noticed on Facebook that this was on and as soon as he saw the police cars he dropped his scooter and ran at full speed.”

Although Bearcat is a pretty wild name for anything with wheels, the word is actually an acronym that stands for Ballistic Engineered Armoured Response Counter Attack.

Attached to the Special Emergency Response Team unit in Queensland, the Lenco-manufactured 6.2-litre turbo-diesel V8-powered vehicle is used by law enforcement agencies around the world when responding to dangerous situations where high powered weapons are involved.

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Originally published as Police Bearcat draws crowds to community engagement event