Grant helps Kan. department with new fleet of vehicles

The department is releasing one new all-black Tahoe at a time

By Ashley Booker
The Hutchinson News

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson Police Department will soon be sporting 15 new and improved vehicles.

The new fleet includes 13 2016 Chevrolet Tahoes and two 2016 Ford Interceptors for the traffic units. Three vehicles have been put on the street since HPD received all of them about a month ago, said Lt. Jason Yingling.

The department is releasing one new all-black Tahoe at a time, as two officers work to strip out the old black and white Tahoes and install new or reused equipment inside the new ones.

“We’re scheduled to replace vehicles every three years,” Yingling said. “We decided to stick with the Tahoes because they’ve been a good vehicle for us – low maintenance cost and plenty of room for the officers.”

The Tahoes are also comfortable, Yingling said, which is important for the officers as they work 12-hour shifts.

New features include reflective police decals, v-shaped light bars that provide more emergency light coverage, panoramic, high-definition in-car videos, and, thanks to a federal grant, tag readers for two of the 15.

The new v-shaped light bars are brighter and flash in a different pattern than the old ones that were more than 10 years old.

To save money, Yingling said the department has reused several items, including the rather expensive metal storage boxes, pillar lights and LED spotlights.

Mileage for the 3-year-old fleet averaged about 80,000 to 90,000 miles, which doesn’t reflect idling time, Yingling said.

The department bought the Tahoes from Midway Motors, he said. The old fleet will be traded into Midway Motors but the two Ford Crown Victorias will be kept.

Midway Motors was not available for comment about what would be done with the old vehicles once they were stripped and ready for trade-in, but Yingling said the vehicles are known to be purchased by oil rig companies.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service