PHOENIX – The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is down one howitzer.
The Arizona Army National Guard took possession of a 1960’s-era self-propelled howitzer from MCSO Wednesday.
The sheriff’s office had displayed the enormous war machine from its flatbed tractor-trailer for parades and community events since MCSO acquired it in 1999. It was incorrectly referred to as a “tank.”
The howitzer was not fully militarized or battle-functional while in MCSO’s possession.
By 2017, the tires and wheels of the trailer had deteriorated to a point where the trailer was essentially grounded in a parking lot, MCSO said. That’s when the sheriff’s office decided the howitzer had to go.
“Replacement tires for what had essentially become a museum piece with no practical application to law enforcement would have again cost Maricopa County taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars better spent on public safety,” the sheriff’s office said in a release.
The Department of Defense agreed to take the howitzer back at no cost to the sheriff’s office.
It took four hours to move the 27-ton vehicle from its trailer to the Arizona National Guard’s flatbed truck.
The Department of Defense will demilitarize the howitzer and determine its future use.
The trailer and tractor that pulled the howitzer will be auctioned next week.
The sheriff's office previously painted former Sheriff Joe Arpaio's name on the howitzer. Before giving it back to the DoD, the office -- now under Paul Penzone -- painted it black.