LR set to spend $682,000 on 26 new police vehicles

Little Rock will add 26 vehicles to its police fleet over the next several months after the Board of Directors approved the $682,000 purchase Tuesday.

The new vehicles will be added to the fleet of 415. This is the second such addition since the Little Rock Fraternal Order of Police union hired an auditor last year and began sounding off about the condition of the police vehicles.

The board in October approved the purchase of 33 vehicles, most of which were put into service earlier this year.

The $682,000 will purchase 11 Dodge Chargers, seven Ford Interceptor Utility vehicles, five Toyota Camry hybrids and three Ford F-150s. The board approved the purchase in a 7-0 vote Tuesday, with three city directors absent.

I̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶l̶y̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶u̶p̶d̶a̶t̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶o̶l̶i̶c̶e̶ ̶f̶l̶e̶e̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶y̶e̶a̶r̶,̶ ̶C̶i̶t̶y̶ ̶M̶a̶n̶a̶g̶e̶r̶ ̶B̶r̶u̶c̶e̶ ̶M̶o̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶s̶a̶i̶d̶ ̶l̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶w̶e̶e̶k̶.̶*

Tommy Hudson, a homicide detective who is president of the police union, criticized that decision.

"They've gotten so far behind," he said of the vehicle purchases. Unless more vehicles are purchased, "we're just going to be in the same position we are every year, and we're going to be chasing our tails."

He said vehicles should be put out of service after 90,000 to 100,000 miles, but some officers are driving cars with two to three times that mileage.

"We've had detectives go in these cars and be in a hot scene and need to take off and go ... and they have had to leave the car there and jump in another detective's car," he said.

Police previously have complained about the performance of Dodge Chargers, and the city said in October that it would instead start purchasing Ford Interceptors for patrol units. Moore said the new Chargers being purchased won't be used for patrol.

A short-term financing loan will pay for the 26 new vehicles. City officials will come up with a long-term program for replacing vehicles by the end of the year, Moore said.

Doris Wright, Ward 6 city director, asked Moore on Tuesday how the city's current situation compared with the vehicle needs of the Police Department.

"If you remember, the goal was to get the older vehicles off the front lines, and I think we've been very successful there," Moore said. "We are pretty much -- when you talk about the front line in all three patrol divisions -- you pretty much only have [Dodge] Chargers and SUVs in the patrol.

"Now you will see older models when we are fully staffed or have extra staff on heavy days," he said, but "this helps you get rid of all the older [Ford Crown Victorias] we have bought."

Information for this article was contributed by Adam Aton of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Metro on 06/22/2016

*CORRECTION: A total of $1 million has been set aside for police vehicle purchases in Little Rock this year and the city board has approved $682,000 worth so far, City Manager Bruce Moore said. This article incorrectly stated that the latest purchases would likely be the only updates to the fleet this year.

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