What is a BearCat, the vehicle used to kill suspect in California deputy shooting?

Law enforcement ended an armed confrontation in Porterville in Central California last week with a 15,000-pound, $400,000-plus piece of equipment its manufacturer bills as “drive-up de-escalation.”

SWAT team officers with the Kern County Sheriff’s Office used a BearCat armored vehicle to run over and kill David Eric Morales, ending a six-hour standoff in which Morales allegedly shot and killed Tulare County Sheriff’s deputy Randy Hoppert.

Following the incident, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood described the use of the BearCat as “a use of force,” taken by officers who feared for their lives.

“The objective of deadly force, use of force,” he told reporters, “is to stop the threat.

“Same concept applies to the BearCat.”

What exactly is a BearCat?

BearCat is the name given to a category of customizable armored vehicles specifically designed and manufactured by Massachusetts-based company Lenco. First produced in 2001 for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Enforcement Bureau, the BearCat is a smaller, more maneuverable (but equally equipped) version of the BEAR (Ballistic Engineered Armored Response) vehicles the company was known for producing.

The vehicle, its angular armored plating finished in matte paint tones, has become synonymous with tactical, military-style operations. Per Lenco’s website: “Since the early 2000s, the BearCat G2 has become a common sight at the frontline of America‘s homeland security and national defense.”

And also the nation’s law enforcement.

According to the company, the G2 version of the BearCat is used by over 1,000 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, offering all-steel armor construction, high ballistic protection and space for “10-12 fully-equipped officers.”

BearCat usage in the Central San Joaquin Valley

BearCats have been used by law enforcement in Fresno County since 2006, at least.

According to The Fresno Bee, the Clovis Police Department used a then-new BearCat during a six-hour standoff in July of that year. The suspect ultimately surrendered. The vehicle was used in “another brief hostage situation,” the following month, according to The Bee.

That BearCat was purchased for $220,000 as a shared asset, to be used between the Clovis and Fresno police departments and the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, though both the Clovis and Fresno departments now have their own separate BearCats, as well.

Fresno took possession of its new BearCat, which it purchased for $398,000, last year.

The Kern County Sheriff’s Office has two versions of the BearCat: a G2 and a G3, according to its 2025 military equipment report. The G3 has increased ground clearance and an “off-road platform, capable of responding to emergencies in rough rural terrain or natural disaster scenarios that may restrict standard on-road vehicles.”

The vehicles came with price tags of $400,000-$450,000.

“Cheap,” Sheriff Youngblood told reporters on Friday.

Typically, the vehicles are “used during critical incidents to support tactical operations and provide safe transport, security, and rescue of department personnel and members of the public,” according to the military equipment report.

The Kern County Sheriff’s Office used the two vehicles nearly 30 times in 2025 at:

• 12 community events or demonstrations
• Four mutual aid requests, assisting other law enforcement agencies with search warrants or barricaded subjects.
• Six instances of barricaded subjects and/or high-risk search warrants/operations.
• Seven large, populated events, where it was used for “standby react team”

It is unclear which of the BearCats was deployed at Thursday’s shooting, though the sheriff said it was damaged by gunfire and will need to be repaired.

This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 4:00 PM with the headline "What is a BearCat, the vehicle used to kill suspect in California deputy shooting?."