Edison Council Approves Military Vehicle for SWAT Team in a Tense 3-2 Vote
Key questions about the vehicle's cost and condition went unanswered before the council voted. One member abstained. Another called the body dysfunctional.
A 2015 photo of a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAP) in Summit County, Ohio. Edison police are seeking authorization to acquire an MRAP through the federal 1033 Program.
Editor’s note: The Central Jerseyan is free to read and supported by advertising. If you value this kind of local reporting and want to help sustain it, you can become a citizen supporter on Patreon. Your contribution helps fund continued coverage of local government, schools, and community issues.
Chris Howell | June 14, 2026
The Edison Township Council voted Wednesday night to authorize the police department to acquire a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle through the federal government’s 1033 Program. The vote was 3-2, with one abstention and one council member absent due to a family emergency.
Before the vote, Councilmember Ajay Patil pressed the administration for basic facts about the vehicle, including its condition, remaining lifespan, and the costs to maintain it and train officers to operate it. He did not get answers.
“We have the resolution, we are approving it, and we don’t know the cost,” Patil said.
He moved to table the resolution for two weeks to allow time to gather that information. The motion failed 3-2. He then pulled the resolution from the consent agenda for a separate vote, stated his objections on the record, and abstained.
The resolution passed, and by the end of the night, a councilmember had called the body dysfunctional.
DON’T LET AN ALGORITHM DECIDE YOUR NEWS
Sign up for The Central Jerseyan Newsletter for independent local news and events every weekend.
The MRAP is available to Edison through the federal 1033 Program, which transfers surplus military equipment to civilian police departments at no purchase cost. The township would be responsible only for shipping and maintenance.
Captain Brian Mieczkowski, Field Operations Commander, who served 18 years on Edison’s SWAT team, made the case for the vehicle before the council voted.
“Normally, we’re showing up in Sprinter vans, and they don’t have any safety regulations or anything for officers if we’re getting shot at or if we’re trying to rescue people during a hostage situation or an active shooter situation,” Capt. Mieczkowski said. “This vehicle is actually built and designed to transport us to those jobs.”
The captain returned to the podium after the public comment period to respond to questions raised during it. He addressed concerns that the vehicle could be used for routine patrols or public events.
A 2010 close-up photo of a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAP) in Buffalo, New York. Edison police are seeking authorization to acquire an MRAP through the federal 1033 Program.
“This vehicle isn’t going to be paraded around the town in a military fashion,” Capt. Mieczkowski said. “This vehicle is going to be utilized specifically for the most dangerous, high-risk operations that our SWAT team puts themselves at risk for every day.”
The meeting drew an engaged public. Several residents said they had been following the issue since The Central Jerseyan published an article last week examining the history of the 1033 Program and the controversy that has followed MRAP acquisitions by civilian police departments across the country.
Taj Sheikh, of Hillcrest Avenue, said he had spent six days researching the issue after reading that article and arrived with detailed questions. He asked why Edison was acquiring an MRAP specifically rather than a Bearcat, a vehicle more commonly used by SWAT units in New Jersey. He also questioned whether the vehicle could be as old as 10 to 15 years, given that many MRAPs currently available through the 1033 Program were deployed during the Afghanistan war.
Business Administrator Sonia Alves-Viveiros said the township does not select from a menu of vehicles but takes what is available through the program. She said the vehicle is approximately five years old and in good condition, though she acknowledged she needed to verify the exact date.
Donald Tarr, of Rieder Road and the father of a retired Edison police officer, offered a direct endorsement. He said that, given the township pays only for maintenance, acquiring the vehicle is a clear call. He recalled a prior instance when the Edison department turned down M16 rifles offered through a federal program. “Please don’t make that mistake again,” he said.
When the vote came, the roll call went as follows: Brescher, no. Dima, yes. Patel, no. Patil, abstain. Shmuel, yes. Coyle, yes.
Three yes votes, two no votes, one abstention.
The township attorney explained that an abstention effectively removes the member from the vote. With five members voting, three yes votes constituted a majority. The resolution passed.
The ruling briefly set off a further dispute. Patil attempted to change his vote, saying he wanted to switch from abstaining to voting yes, a move that would have left the tally at 3-3 and defeated the resolution. Coyle ruled the vote was already complete. The attorney backed him. The resolution stood.
After the vote, Conway returned to the microphone. She said she was troubled that Patil’s request for two more weeks had been denied without anyone asking whether the delay would cause real harm.
“President Coyle asked the captain, ‘Do you want this today?’ And he said yes,” Conway said. “But nobody asked him, ‘Would it be detrimental in two weeks?’ And that’s all I’m asking for.”
She posed that question directly from the podium. Capt. Mieczkowski answered it.
“I can’t predict what’s going to happen tonight, tomorrow, the next two weeks,” he said. “If you’re offering me an opportunity to put my officers in a vehicle that’s going to provide them additional safety today, then I want it today.”
Brescher followed with a broader critique.
“When you have a body that cannot give the other members the respect, the ability to get that information for things that don’t necessarily need to be bought today, it tells you that we’re dysfunctional,” Brescher said. “That’s been lost for many years now.”
The questions Patil raised remain unanswered on the record. The administration has not set a timeline for providing that information.
With the resolution passed, Edison’s SWAT team will begin taking possession of the vehicle. The township must pay for transportation, which for comparable acquisitions in New Jersey has run north of $20,000, as well as ongoing maintenance costs from its operating budget.
Editor’s note: The Central Jerseyan is free to read and supported by advertising. If you value this kind of local reporting and want to help sustain it, you can become a citizen supporter on Patreon. Your contribution helps fund continued coverage of local government, schools, and community issues.