October 20, 2026
City Council
DATE: October 20, 2026
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM: Councilmember Soheila Bana
Subject: Apply for Grant Funding to Acquire an Armored Rescue Vehicle and a Rapid Response Armored Vehicle for the
Richmond Police Department
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no direct fiscal impact associated with this item.
Staff time will be required to research funding
opportunities, evaluate vehicle options and costs, and
prepare a report to the City Council, and this work will be completed within existing departmental workloads. If
grant funding is awarded, any required City matching
funds or ongoing costs, such as maintenance, training, or storage, will be identified and brought back to the City Council for consideration.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
None.
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
Currently, the Richmond Police Department does not
own armored rescue and repaid response vehicles and
must rely on outside agencies to provide one when
needed, which department leadership has noted can take
hours to arrive on scene.
On September 3, 2026, a Richmond police officer was
shot and injured while accompanying Contra Costa
County's A3 crisis response team on a mental health
welfare check in the 2200 block of Key Boulevard.
AGENDA
REPORT
October 20, 2026
A second officer inside a patrol vehicle that was struck by gunfire was not injured. The incident required a largescale tactical response, including rescue and rapid response armored vehicles and specialized resources
from allied law enforcement agencies, and prompted a
shelter-in-place order for residents near the Richmond
and El Cerrito border.
Acquiring armored rapid response and rescue vehicles
would directly address this gap, improving both officer safety and the Department's capacity to protect residents during the most dangerous incidents it may face.
Pursuing grant funding, rather than General Fund dollars, would allow the City to address this need without
competing with other budget priorities.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: DIRECT the city manager to identify and apply for available federal, state, or other grant funding to acquire an “armored rescue” vehicle and a “armored rapid
response” vehicle for the Richmond Police Department,
and to report back within 30 days to the City Council on available funding sources, estimated costs, and a
proposed acquisition timeline - Councilmember Soheila
Bana (510-672-3490). This item was continued from
the October 6, 2026, meeting.
DISCUSSION:
On September 3, 2026, a Richmond police officer was shot and injured while accompanying Contra Costa County's A3 crisis response team on a mental health welfare check in the 2200 block of Key Boulevard. According to Richmond Police Chief Timothy Simmons, the suspect fired more than 30 rounds from inside the residence using a rifle, striking neighboring homes, vehicles, and a patrol car. Officer Justin Church, a 25-year law enforcement veteran, was hospitalized and later released. A second officer inside a patrol vehicle that was struck by gunfire was not injured. The incident required a large-scale tactical response, including rescue and rapid response armored vehicles and specialized resources from allied law enforcement agencies, and prompted a shelter-in-place order for residents near the Richmond and El Cerrito border.
October 20, 2026
Chief Simmons noted that the incident echoes a similar 2024 shooting in Montalvin Manor, in which a resident fired at officers from inside a home. In that incident, Chief Simmons stated that the Department had no capacity to safely approach the area to evacuate neighboring residents, and that patrol vehicles were struck by rifle rounds that penetrated the vehicles.
Currently, the Richmond Police Department does not own armored rescue and repaid response vehicles and must rely on outside agencies to provide one when needed, which department leadership has noted can take hours to arrive on scene. In a July 2026 discussion with the City Council, department leadership indicated it was exploring grant funding to acquire such a vehicle.
An armored rescue vehicle plus a rapid response armored vehicle would allow the Department to safely approach active-shooter or barricaded-subject situations, evacuate residents from immediate danger, and protect officers and residents alike during high-risk incidents, without the delay of waiting for mutual aid from other agencies.
The September 3, 2026, shooting, together with the 2024 Montalvin Manor incident, demonstrates a recurring and serious public safety gap: the Department's current inability to safely and promptly approach an active gunfire situation to protect officers and evacuate residents. Acquiring armored rapid response and rescue vehicles would directly address this gap, improving both officer safety and the Department's capacity to protect residents during the most dangerous incidents it may face. Pursuing grant funding, rather than General Fund dollars, would allow the City to address this need without competing with other budget priorities.
Staff is directed to:
1. Identify available federal, state, or regional grant programs for which an armored rescue vehicle and an armored rapid response vehicle acquisition would qualify;
2. Evaluate vehicle specifications, estimated costs (including any ongoing maintenance and training costs), and vendor options;
3. Apply for identified grant funding opportunities; and
4. Report back to the City Council within 30 days with findings, a recommended funding source, and a proposed acquisition and implementation timeline.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
None