A Police Car With Plenty of Muscle
By Robert Caplin
The New York TimesNew York has bought 15 Dodge Chargers for a trial run and will decide in six months whether to order more of the cars.
Playing a police detective, Steve McQueen chased a criminal driving a Dodge Charger in the 1968 movie “Bullitt.” In the 1980’s, “The Dukes of Hazzard” television series made the Charger a star, in its role as the General Lee, the muscle car that could outrun the law.
More than two decades later, Chrysler is manufacturing a new version of the Charger for law enforcement agencies, and the New York Police Department has bought 15 of them for a trial run: 10 with powerful V-8 Hemi engines for its highway units and 5 with V-6’s for patrolling in precincts. The Midtown North Precinct, in Manhattan, got the first V-6 Charger last week.
The new police Charger is faster than the cars currently in use by the department. While some have questioned why an urban police department might need a car that reaches 150 miles per hour, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said the main reason for buying the cars is to make the department’s fleet less monolithic.
“What we like about it is the diversity,” said Mr. Kelly in announcing the department’s plans last week outside 1 Police Plaza, a lineup of Chargers nearby. “Chrysler is now back in the market, and this is the model they are offering.”
City police officers now drive either Ford Crown Victorias or Chevrolet Impalas. By buying a third model, the department can be sure that fewer of its 2,500 patrol cars will be grounded in case of a recall, Mr. Kelly said. Officers will try out the 15 cars and report back in six months. If the reviews are positive, the department may buy more. The current models cost the police about $18,511 for the V-6 and $20,511 for the V-8, and both models include a police package with a heavy-duty suspension and brakes, more durable interiors and high-speed-rated wheels and tires, among other features.
The department, which gets discounts for buying cars in bulk, has been paying about $17,000 for Impalas and a little more than $19,000 for the Crown Victorias. The department also spends about $10,000 a car for things like computer equipment, sirens, lighting and decals.
For decades, New York’s patrol cars were green, with black fenders, white roofs, white decals and a single turret light on top that officers likened to a bubble gum machine. In 1973, the department switched to blue cars in an attempt to make them appear friendlier.
Nine years ago, it began the current color scheme — white cars with blue decals — principally to save on paint costs, and also to make them easier to sell on the used car market. It might seem incongruous for a department that patrols streets often choked with traffic to need such a fast car. Geoffrey P. Alpert, a professor of criminology at the University of South Carolina and a co-author of “Police Pursuit Driving: What We Know” (Police Executive Research Forum, 2000), noted how rare it is for officers in cities to reach high speeds.
“They don’t seem appropriate as urban police cars,” Dr. Alpert said of the Chargers. “They’re not easy to get in and out of; its difficult to get prisoners in and out of them as well. And the engine, it’s just overkill.” Dr. Alpert said that police pursuits often result in crashes that lead to injury or death for officers and civilians.
Leonard J. Lesko, the director of the department’s Fleet Services Division, said that the Charger’s top speed raised the eyebrows of a former Princeton University professor who wrote to him to say that by putting the cars on the street, “all you are going to do is kill someone.”
The department’s V-6 Impala can hit 141 miles per hour, but the Charger’s acceleration, not its speed, is what makes it attractive, Mr. Lesko said. It can go from zero to 60 in 6.57 seconds, faster than both the Chevrolet and the Ford. Its ability to quickly catch up with a speeder will make for shorter and less daring chases, which translates to increased safety for everyone, Mr. Lesko said.
You can make a car go 200 miles per hour and it’s not going to make any more people get killed. And you could make a car go 90 miles per hour and you are not going to save more lives because most of the accidents where cops get killed or seriously hurt happen on city streets,’’ said Mr. Lesko. “They are responding to a crime or to a case where, maybe, an officer is down and they’re going maybe 50 miles per hour and it is usually in an intersection. The accidents happen at 50 and 60 miles per hour, not at high speeds.”Mr. Kelly said it would be “most unlikely” for officers to use the vehicle’s top speed on the city’s highways.
He said the department has strict procedures for calling off any chase that endangers the public. On average, Mr. Lesko said, marked police cars last about three and a half years, unmarked cars about five and a half. Those are averages; some cars run for much longer, and some are knocked out by crashes. Using high-performance vehicles in the highly mechanized world of law enforcement is nothing new. The New York state Police have used Mustangs and Camaros. Mr. Kelly recalled the days, in the 1970’s, when the department used the Plymouth Fury, whose top speed was 120 m.p.h. He even drove one when the force had fewer vehicles and “getting into a sector car” was an achievement for officers on foot patrol, he said.
Just as handguns for the police have advanced over the years, in part to keep pace with the increasing firepower of criminals, faster cars have been employed by police agencies to match those on the streets. Perception being important in law enforcement, criminals may be more deterred when seeing police officers in a more imposing car, said Ronald C. Ruecker, the superintendent of the Oregon State Police, which put 45 Chargers on the road about two months ago.
“I need to say this, though,” he said. “No matter what car the police are driving, there is always going to be someone on the street who can outrun you, and the police officer knows this.” The new cars may also provide a morale booster for officers, just as stylish new uniforms or more bullet-resistant vests or anything to give officers an edge can instill pride. “Cops always like something new” said Mr. Kelly. “So, I think that this will be a bit of a novelty.”
The V-8 Charger has some technical gadgets the department is eager to test, too, including an electronic stabilization program to prevent skidding or fishtailing and to increase traction. The V-8 also has the ability to drop into a four-cylinder mode while idling and cruising at slow speeds, for greater fuel efficiency, said Mr. Lesko.
Mr. Kelly noted that New York has hundreds of miles of highways, so “we need some high performance vehicles.” But he stressed that in many situations, “the most powerful weapon police officers have is a radio, to radio ahead, rather than doing high-speed chases.”
Classic Muscle Cars, Chrysler Charger, Ford Mustang, Plymouth Fury, Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Impala.
