The newest car to join the Anaheim Police Department’s fleet is now being introduced. Six Tesla Model Ys are currently available for police service with the department.
Sgt. Jacob Gallacher stated, “We were able to get these directly from Tesla’s current inventory.”
The Anaheim police force desperately needed new squad vehicles.
Gallacher declared, “COVID vehicle production stopped.” “We have an aging fleet, and some of the vehicles that we’ve been trying to purchase have taken an extended period of time.”
Six weeks ago, the $320,000 pilot initiative was approved by the Anaheim City Council. Two of the new police units, according to Gallacher, are operational. When they’re prepared, the remaining four Teslas will be introduced.
“The Tesla does cost a little bit more than a traditional police vehicle, however, over the life cycle of the car, the city will actually make out on it because of maintenance costs as well as fuel savings,” stated Gallacher.
In order to determine if the new EV units are a suitable match, he stated that 16 police officers are undergoing training to operate them and would regularly assess the vehicles’ performance.
“We plan to charge them to 80% every day, so that will be about 260 miles of range,” he stated. “Our officers drive between 80 and 120 miles a day.”
In diverse contexts, APD will keep an eye on cost-effectiveness and dependability. James Poston is among many who are dubious about the cars’ ability to function as patrol cars, though.
“You have to be the first ones, right?” Poston stated. “You’re not going to figure this out until you get one of these on the streets and you start going and patrolling and figuring out what your needs are.”
The agency declared that it was prepared to test drive the Teslas.
“If they don’t work on patrol, then there are options to put them on a community policing team or use them as school resource officers,” stated Gallacher.
The Anaheim Police Department intends to be the first to use a new method, even though other Southern California police departments have started using electric cars.
“We would like to be the first agency in Orange County to have a Cybertruck, so Elon, if you’re watching and want to donate a Cybertruck, we’d love to have a Cybertruck,” said Gallacher.
According to the police department, these vehicles will aid in community involvement, and they plan to be driven on public roads over the next several weeks.
