During a standoff at a Burger King in Houston on July 14, news crews reported seeing “The Rook.”
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office had responded to a burglary at the restaurant where two masked men were reportedly inside. One man was arrested, but another thought to be still inside got away.
During the standoff, the Sheriff's Office deployed a specially equipped, modified Caterpillar compact track loader to use as protection.
The Rook Armored Critical Incident Vehicle is the creation of Florida Caterpillar dealer Ring Power, and for the past decade, it has been helping law enforcement agencies capture criminals, assist emergency rescues, even move cars blocking snow-covered roads.
(To watch The Rook in action at a standoff in Florida, check out the video at the end of this article.)
What is The Rook?
The Rook's Hydraulic Breaching Ram attachment can extend 6 to 10 feet to knock through block walls, reinforced steel doors, wood and concrete, hurricane windows and windows protected by burglar bars, the company says.Ring Power video screenshot
It has a 98-horsepower engine and weighs 14,030 pounds.
“Unlike traditional armored vehicles,” says a company brochure, “The Rook is capable of being used in tight areas both inside and outside of public buildings to transport personnel or equipment and for surveillance.”
Ring Power video of The Rook shows it crashing through buildings with armed SWAT teams onboard behind the machine’s armored barrier. The Rook can be equipped with a variety of attachments provided by Ring Power for keeping officers safe and performing duties during emergency incidents:
- Armored Deployment Platform – can hold up to four officers and includes two locking gunports, six sliding gun ports, bullet-proof glass sight ports, and wireless video cameras attached to the front of the platform with video feed to the equipment operator. The platform’s rear ladder system provides reach for entry up to the third floor of a building. It can also enable a bomb squad to get closer to a suspicious device. It can go where other vehicles can’t, such as in schools, malls, large crowds. “The platform can be detached and used as a fortified position with room for an additional three officers as opposed to hand-carried ballistic shields,” the company says. “Additional uses include hostage rescue, suspicious package removal, bus assaults and delivering hostage negotiation supplies, all while behind Level IV armor.”
- Hydraulic Breaching Ram – can extend 6 to 10 feet to knock through block walls, reinforced steel doors, wood and concrete, hurricane windows and windows protected by burglar bars, the company says. The ram has five infrared cameras giving the operator a 360-degree view of the breaching area.
- Grapple Claw – can be used to gain access to attics where suspects might be hiding, as well as help in disaster-relief efforts by clearing the way for emergency responders. It has 4,500 pounds of lifting capacity and can remove fortified doors, burglar bars or shrubbery.
- Vehicle Extraction Tool – can push or pull a parked vehicle or pick up a car completely to move it to a safe location. It can also be positioned to lift the rear wheels of an occupied vehicle to keep it from moving.
The Rook in Action
Though Harris County Sheriff’s Office Rook didn’t see much action in the July 14 standoff, it did come in handy in August 2023 in capturing a fugitive wanted for shooting and wounding four law enforcement officers in two separate incidents.
Rooks from the Sheriff’s Office and Houston Police Department tore apart a house in the Humble area to capture the fugitive, according to ABC13.com.
In the video below from Ring Power, The Rook is seen during a SWAT call in Lake City, Florida:
And for less dramatic action, the rook was also used by New York State Police in 2022 to clear away cars so snowplows could come through:
