Kingston police and several City Council members are at odds over whether the city should buy an armored rescue vehicle for the police department.

The disagreement is not about money, but the message it may send to the community.

Activists descended on a recent city finance committee meeting to urge its five members not to decline a police request for an armored vehicle.

Opponents who testified before the committee called the vehicle a “weapon of war” and a “tank.”

“A tank is going to terrorize the neighborhood and create a strong sense of intimidation that is already felt by everyone, especially young people, especially young, Black and brown people,” said Jessica Alonzo of Kingston.

Police Chief Egidio Tinti tried to calm those concerns brought by the group of about 30 activists, students, politicians and attorneys.

Shannon Wong of the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Democratic nominee for county legislator, Phil Erner, joined the group in marching into City Hall, chanting and carrying signs. They also interrupted the meeting a few times with a "human microphone check."

Tinti said the department needs a 2004 Lenco BearCat for rescue situations, as their previous 1979 Dodge Peacekeeper has broken down and is beyond repair.

Kingston would chip in $100,000 toward the vehicle through a federal grant and the Town if Ulster would pay $65,000, also through a grant.

Departments from both municipalities would share the vehicle, which Tinti said would allow them to fully respond to local rescue situations in a matter of minutes, instead of up to an hour.

“This is not a tank,” he told the demonstrators, assuring those at the meeting that the department would not bring the vehicle to parades or community events.

“This provides safety and security for the individuals in the vehicle to get up to tactically sound situations (sic) for retrieval and rescue,” he said. “That’s what this is.”

The committee voted 5-0 to recommend against the purchase.

“We don’t need this in our communitym" community organizer Callie Jayne of Rise Up Kingston said. "I’m a little concerned just about how big of a push the police department was making for this, just saying it's free and that should be OK."

The 5-0 vote against the purchase does not mean the matter is dead, per council rules.

It now goes to the full council for an up or down vote in August.