Despite their primary function as a safe means to transport valuable materials from one place to another , armored cars are occasionally used for other purposes . For example , during the 1997 North Hollywood shootout , police officers in Los Angeles commandeered an armored car in order to extract wounded civilians and officers from the scene towards the end of the shootout . This later led to the introduction of specialist police vehicles for similar situations
North Hollywood shootout
North Hollywood shootout
Armored car (valuables)