So why do the cops need a tank?

[Lithos]

84. Completely disagree

LOL,

I'll just agree to disagree with you. You can cherry pick all you want here, but there are many cases where standoffs occur which do not make the news. It is useful to have a large, armored vehicle which can operate in such an environment.

Example:

http://4gwar.wordpress.com/2012/07/12/homeland-security-detoit-p-d-use-apc-for-forcible-entry/

<<Detroit averages 45 barricaded gunman calls a year, Johnson told the Military Vehicles Exposition and Conference in Detroit’s Cobo Center today (Thursday). “Instead of putting officers in harm’s way,” he explained, the APC is used to take down the door. Usually after that, “the individual elected not to play with us,” Johnson added.
The APC has also been used to rescue Detroit cops trapped behind a car or building by hostile fire, to pick up a wounded citizen lying in the street during a gunbattle and to serve search warrants on the fortified lairs of drug and outlaw motorcycle gangs, said Johnson. The aging APC requires a lot of maintenance, he said, adding “we have had some challenges” keep it running.>>