"Charge 'em, Danno."
All right, we're playing around with Steve McGarrett's old Hawaii Five-O signature line, "Book 'em, Danno," but it's for a good cause as police departments around the world are buying more electric vehicles for their fleets.
The EVs give the cops a chance to chase after the bad guys while reducing their carbon footprint.
The South Pasadena Police Department will become the first such agency in the nation to convert its entire police fleet to electric vehicle, city officials said on May 8.
The Los Angeles County community, which has a population of roughly 26,000 people, will purchase 20 Tesla (TSLA) Model Y patrol vehicles and install nine police-dedicated “Level II” electric vehicle chargers and one “Level III” electric vehicle charger.
Unplugged Performance, which tunes and customizes Teslas tweeted that it had upfitted 20 Tesla Model Y and Model 3 vehicles that will replace the legacy internal combustion fleet this year.
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Police Departments Charging Up
"The fleet of Tesla vehicles, is a first, for any department to convert its entire fleet of vehicles to 100% electric," the company said.
The conversion will be made possible by nearly $500,000 in “clean transportation funding” from the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee, along with investments by both Southern California Edison’s Charge Ready program and the South Pasadena City Council, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported.
The City Council voted in September 2022, to make the switch, as the current public safety vehicle fleet was beyond its useful service life.
Last July, Ford (F) unveiled the 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Pro Special Service Vehicle, which the company said was "America's first electric pick-up purpose built for police."
And last month, the New York City Police Department rolled out a test fleet of nearly 200 fully electric Ford Mach E patrol cars. The department already has hybrid and alternative-fuel vehicles on the road.
Earlier this year, the Westchester (NY) Department of Public Safety said it obtained its all-electric marked patrol vehicle.
Public Safety Commissioner Terrance Raynor said in a statement that the purchase is part of a pilot program to assess the effectiveness of the Mustang Mach-E as a patrol vehicle and determine if more should be purchased in the future.
Saving the Taxpayers Money
Meanwhile, nearly 2,000 miles away from South Pasadena, police in the village of Somerset, Wis., kicked off the new year by proudly announcing the delivery of their new Tesla Model Y squad car.
“We proposed a Tesla Model Y due to the fact it would meet our department needs and save tax payers approximately $80,000 over the 10 year duty cycle of the vehicle," Police Chief John Trepczyk said in a Jan. 24 Facebook post.
"The Model Y is a 100% battery electric vehicle which is gaining more popularity with law enforcement agencies throughout the nation, who are realizing the cost savings of electric vehicle versus a traditional fleet," he said,
Trepczyk noted that "saving taxpayers money and eliminating idle waste/cost was in mind when selecting this particular vehicle."
As far reactions from the town's officers, the chief said, " so far, so good,"
"The feedback has been positive, and the officers seem to be choosing the new squad over the others," he said. "The more you see this squad on the road, the more money our Village will be saving."
