POUGHKEEPSIE – Funded by $150,000 from the state, the City of Poughkeepsie is replacing four old, rusty Ford Crown Victoria police cruisers with four new state-of-the art all-wheel-drive SUVs.
Out with the rusty old Crown Vics
In with the new Explorers
State Senator Susan Serino (R, Hyde Park) secured the funding for the
vehicles, which were unveiled by Mayor Robert Rolison and Police Chief
Thomas Pape outside the police station on Tuesday.
Pape noted that the vehicles are the office for his officers for eight hours a day and the equipment allows them to perform their duties both safely and effectively.
“Every aspect of these new cars has some sort of computerization in it from the radios, our little computers, the lights, the sirens and our mobile data terminals,” Pape said.
Fully outfitted, the new all-wheel drive Ford Explorers cost $45,000 each.
Rolison said Assemblyman Frank Skartados (D, Milton) is expected to provide additional state money for other replacement police vehicles.
Pape noted that the new vehicles also presented an opportunity to make their presence more identifiable by having a paint scheme of traditional black and white with “POLICE” broadly emblazoned on the door panels.
In the past, the city has had police cruisers that were red and white and were routinely mistaken for fire department cars. From red and white, the department shifted to white vehicles with blue lettering. All future vehicles will be using the black and white scheme.
