The Redding Police Department Will Get A Tesla

December 16, 20203 years ago Johnna Crider 0 Comments

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The Redding City Council is considering a proposal to order a Tesla vehicle for its police department. The Redding Police Department (RPD) wants to add another electric vehicle to its fleet, but not for emergency situations. Instead, the department wants to reduce the amount of money that is being spent on fuel and energy.

Update: The Redding Police Department got permission to buy the Tesla Model 3.

Add another one to the list. Redding Police Department given green light to purchase Tesla Model 3.

Congrats @ReddingPolice!https://t.co/6y8WR9dASU

— Drive Tesla 🇨🇦 (@DriveTeslaca) December 16, 2020

Brian Barner, captain of field operations, confirmed that RPD has already received electric motorcycles and other types of electric-based vehicles through the Redding Electric Utility (REU) Electrification Transportation program. Barner said that the Tesla vehicle will be used for patrol shifts as well as parades and community events. According to the city council’s meeting agenda, the Tesla will cost around $55,000, which will be paid for through REU’s Greenhouse Gas Funded Fleet Electrification Grant Program.

“Several police departments, not only in California but also nationwide, have been testing out electric vehicles, the Tesla being the number one vehicle that’s being tested out and has been for the last couple of years,” Barner said. He also said that if the city approves the purchase of the Tesla, they will test it out to see how it will benefit both the RPD and the community as a whole.

“We thought it would be a great opportunity to submit it to the grant program with Redding Electric Utility and take one of our gas-powered older police cars and change that out for a Tesla Model 3,” he added, but for the program to go any further, it has to be approved by the city council, which is meeting tonight at 6 p.m. That is where the idea for the Tesla vehicle will be presented in open session.

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How An Electric Vehicle Would Benefit Any Police Force

In 2019, the Fremont Police Department started testing a Tesla Model S customized for its patrol operations. After a year of testing, the results showed that the vehicle exceeded performance and its operational objectives. It also took on the challenges of police use while requiring minimal maintenance. As for the cost, it proved to be a money saver overall when adding in the maintenance and fuel savings.

In its report, the Fremont PD noted that over the course of the one-year pilot program, the vehicle reduced the cost of fuel that would have been required for a traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) police vehicle by $4097. The report also pointed out that although this was just one electric vehicle in a fleet of over 60 fossil fueled vehicles, Tesla actually reduced the greenhouse gas emissions produced annually by the department by a large amount. Of course, every car makes a difference to some extent.

In Georgia, the Brookhaven Police Department also acquired a Tesla Model S — through confiscated drug money. During its field test, the vehicle was tested on two performance tracks at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center. One track was designed for high-speed emergency response and the other for urban emergency response. The Brookhaven PD’s vehicle was just recently a participant in the Tesla Parade in Atlanta over the weekend, and my friend TesLatino was able to get a great inside look while at the staging area just before the parade started.

“So it’s not every day that you get to see a police car that is actually a Tesla, so this is really awesome. Change is here. Change is happening,” said Rafael (TesLatino).