Video: N.Y. Police Use Armored Vehicle to Remove Snow-Buried Vehicles

A New York police department has found a novel way to clear roads so that snow plows can get through following the historic blizzard that hit the East Coast.

In a video that was posted online, the Buffalo Police Department is seen using its Rook armored vehicle to remove vehicles from the snow-covered roadway, WROC-TV reports. Officers used the armored vehicle's front forklift to drag the buried vehicles and then lift them to a better location.

On Tuesday, Erie County officials said over 260 pieces of equipment were being mobilized to clear streets, although Buffalo remained the only municipality in the area under a driving ban, The Buffalo News reports. The death toll from the blizzard is at 33 and is still expected to rise. 

Roughly 100 National Guard military police have been called in to help state police with traffic control. They will be at the stationed at major intersections and city entrances in order to keep people off the road.

While the winter storm has shut down the city, police have been responding to multiple reports of looting in the area. That led to Mayor Byron Brown to calling looters the "lowest of the low."