JAN. 2025. Blues Vol 41 No. 1

load capacity was only

load capacity was only around 900pounds.“I think of the size of our troopersand the amount of equipment thatwe carry, I think that we would becritically close to, if not, overloadingeach one of those vehicles,” he says.With some operations, two MSPtroopers might be assigned to thesame car. That could also double theamount of gear that is being carriedas well.“So, you start adding push bumpers,and computers, and centerconsoles, and patrol car lighting, andthen all the equipment in the back,and the drawer organizers, and theflares and, fire extinguishers, Halligans,and all those things,” Darlingtonpoints out.“As soon as you start overloadingthese vehicles, you know you’re notgoing to have the same predictabilityin terms of safety,” the MSP lieutenantadds.Darlington says MSP’s testing theBEVs has been an opportunity forOEMs to glean a lot of information,learn their BEVs capabilities, andgauge law enforcement interests.“I think that as interest continuesto grow and the engineers learnmore on how they need to engineera vehicle to meet our specific needs,which is very specific compared tothat of the consumer market, I thinkthat there might be other platforms alittle more conducive to what policeneed in terms of size and capabilitiesof a car, a police vehicle,” Darlingtonshares.FIRST BEV FOR MSPState security property officerslocated in downtown Lansing nowhave the agency’s first BEV, a 2024Ford Mustang Mach-E. Darlingtonsaid the BEV is a good fit for thatrole, both in job requirement andlocation – meaning the Mach-E willserve in a good area for charging.The vehicle was delivered just a fewweeks ago.With a BEV of its own now, Darlingtonsaid MSP hopes to learnmore about BEV tire wear, howlong brakes last, what the realisticrange will be, and more.“Once the vehicle is under a loadof power and MDC (mobile datacompute) and patrol car lighting,and then how the ambient temperaturesare going to affect thattoo,” says Darlington. “I’m just feelfortunate that we’re finally going toget one and be able to get clean alot of information from”Darlington adds he has had conversationswith several OEMs andpotentially there could be somenew BEV entrants in next year’stesting.What Makes a Good Patrol Vehicle?Many agencies look to the PrecisionDriving Unity and its researchwhen considering patrol vehicles,whether battery-electric or ICE.Darlington says a lot of agencies,especially down south, are lookingat how to use other vehiclesto meet that sedan niche. Many ofthose agencies need patrol vehiclesthat can go longer distances,like patrolling highways, and carrymore payload and gear.They are trying to fill the void leftwhen the Dodge Charger ceasedproduction, he says. He also saysthere’s been some speculationamongst one of the OEMs thatthere might be a sedan availablesometime in the near future. Hewas not free to elaborate.“What I’m hoping, based on alot of my conversations with themanufacturers and their engineers,is that we’re going to really seepolice vehicles that are going to becapable of carrying out the needof what we do in terms of sizerange, charging times” Darlingtonsays. “That’s what I’m hoping.”CHALLENGES FOR BEVS AS PA-TROL VEHICLESThe Avondale Estates Police Departmentin the Atlanta, Georgia,area is like many other departments– they have adopted fully-electricvehicles to some extent,but the BEVs only serve administrativefunctions.Chief Harry Hess shares whatkeeps his department from addingBEVs to its patrol fleet. And, it’s notnecessarily just about the vehicles.In 2022 the department purchasedthree Mach-E SUVs. Those wereassigned to the chief, the deputychief, and a sergeant in investigations.Earlier this year, the departmentadded a Ford F-150 Lightning,which the chief now drives. As a6-foot-6-inch-tall chief, Hess saidhe was glad to take the truck overthe smaller Mach-E.“So, for admin personnel, I thinkthe EV is a no brainer,” he said, explaininghow the four fully-electricvehicles are saving the departmentabout 0 a month. That is thedifference between the chargingcost and the cost of fuel they wouldhave used in four ICE vehicles.The biggest holdup in addingelectric patrol vehicles is that thedepartment assigns take-home patrolvehicles to officers. To be competitivein hiring, providing takehomecars is a must now, the chiefof the small 14-officer departmentexplains.One concern is liability if acharging system ever caused a fireat an officer’s home. That, he says,is a small possibility, but still apossibility to be considered. Anotherconcern is not every home’selectric system ready for a charger.The department learned that with aMach-E assigned to an officer whenthe officer’s older home was notready to handle the needs of a BEVcharger.“The panel could not supportadding the EV charger. We had estimatesof almost ,000 to ,000just to upgrade the panel in hishouse to support that,” says Hess.The officer lives in an area neara Level 3 charging location, so thatwas a solution. But, that meantthe city had to pay him for work78 The BLUES - JANUARY ‘25

hours while he was waiting for theMach-E to charge.“The lack of infrastructure on theLevel 3 chargers is the main hesitationin implementing them in patrolfor us,” Hess says.Another consideration is if anofficer commutes home to find hisarea has a power outage followinga storm. How would he chargethe patrol vehicle to get it readyfor the next shift? He likely wouldhave battery capacity to get backto work, but then he might start apatrol shift at something like a 40%charge, the chief explains.Then too, there is the road tripconcern.Officers travel for training, whichis several hours away. In doing thedrive in a BEV, Hess has found thatonce he gets out of Atlanta andtakes the interstate south, there isonly one public charging site.Hess explained how on a tripto the Federal Law EnforcementTraining Center near Brunswick hehad to plan for one charging stopnear Forsyth, then a second closerto Savannah. On that trip he spent30 minutes charging at the first stop,then an hour at the second stop.“What happens when there’s nospare chargers?” Hess asks. “Youhave to wait for someone else tofinish charging.”BEVS AS A RECRUITING TOOLAgencies are finding that havingBEVs can be a recruitment tool tohelp land younger officers, Bertinosays.“There’s a shortage of officers rightnow, and we’re starting to see a lotof agencies that are actually usingthe different electric vehicles as partof a part of the recruitment process,”she adds.She says having a Mach-E out atrecruiting events signals to younger-generationpotential officers thatthe agency is taking a more EV-forwardapproach.Police in Ann Arbor, Michigan,rely mostly on hybrid SUVs for patrolbut the department has threeMach-Es serving in administrativeroles. One is a marked unit that isused for public relations, includingrecruiting, and is promoted in asocial media video.BEV LESSONS LEARNEDThe New York City Police Department(NYPD) was an earlyadopter of fully-electric policevehicles. In 2022, the NYPD purchased148 Ford Mach-E GTs, with40 designated as unmarked and108 used for marked patrol, for million.Robert Martinez, who retired asdeputy commissioner of supportservices for the NYPD at the end of2020, said for a fully-electric vehicleto be used as a patrol vehiclethere are two criteria it must meet.First, it must meet the needs ofthe mission. Second, it must besafe.The BLUES - JANUARY ‘25 79