As Clear Creek County locals gathered in Minton Park in Empire for “National Night Out” Aug. 5, a formidable and intimidating “Mine Resistant Ambush Protected” vehicle, known as an MRAP, operated by the sheriff’s department, was center stage.

According to military specifications the MRAP weighs between 34,000-to-53,000 pounds, depending on armor and payload.

Its armor includes: “Full range of ballistic, Improvised Explosive Device, and mine blast protection, including V-shaped hulls for blast deflection and Kevlar elements for enhanced survivability,” according to military descriptions.

However, one-year-old Paisley Champion, from Empire, was wide-eyed and all smiles as Clear Creek County Sheriff Capt. Seth Marquardt helped her mother, Chelsea, put her in the driver’s seat of the ve

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