Baker County Sheriff Travis Ash drove the agency’s armor-protected vehicle to help with an incident Wednesday, Jan. 22, in which a man barricaded himself inside a Malheur County home and fired shots at police and others.

Ash said he offered to bring the mine-resistant ambush protected truck — known as an MRAP — to the scene near Highway 201 south of Nyssa.

The county acquired the surplus military vehicle a decade or so ago, for no cost, Ash said. Its basic purpose is to protect both police officers and civilians from bullets.

He said Malheur County has a similar vehicle, but Sheriff Travis Johnson accepted Ash’s offer to have a second armored truck.

Ash said he has deployed Baker County’s truck on multiple missions over the years, as part of the Northeast Oregon Regional SWAT team.

Ash said he arrived at the Malheur County incident Wednesday afternoon.

He initially helped carry police officers to various places, then parked within about 20 yards of the front door of the house on Owyhee Avenue.

Ash said no shots were fired while he was at the scene.

Police reported that the suspect, later identified as Joel Evan Brousseau, 58, fired multiple rounds earlier Wednesday afternoon.

The armored vehicles from both Baker and Malheur counties both were parked near the home where Brousseau was barricaded, according to the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office.

SWAT team members used a different armored vehicle equipped with a ram to break through barricades. Police found Brousseau’s body inside the home about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The initial investigation suggests Brousseau died from a self-inflicted gunshot.

Two members of the Baker City Police Department also responded to the incident, Sgt. Wayne Chastain and officer Andrew Martin.