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The Thermopolis Police Department recently received two new Chevy Tahoe SUVs for their patrol duties. Chief Julie Mathews was instrumental in this new purchase. She said, “Every year the PD tries to replace one patrol car. This year we were fortunate to replace with two 2020 Chevy Tahoes. We’ve changed the graphic design on them. The backseat transport section cage has been updated for safety for not only the officers but whoever we place in the back with the seatbelt system. The new seats are easier to clean from biohazards.”
Officer Scott Gardner also described the updated features for the new SUVs. He said, “We went from a metal cage to a polycarbonate that is see-through. Some people bang their heads on the interior. It’s a lot stronger. It’s fully enclosed so they can’t move around and get into a position where they can get out. They cannot get out. The SUVs are a police package vehicle so they are built differently. They are designed for police work, which makes it safer. It’s more heavy-duty. The brakes are bigger. They have taken a lot of equipment off that reduces their speed. It’s a 140 mph vehicle. It’s a safer vehicle for officers. A lot of agencies will buy an off the lot car and put equipment in them. This vehicle is designed specifically for police work.”
Chief Mathews described the wear and tear their vehicle went through during patrol duty. She added, “The stopping, the turning, flipping on vehicles. They are built to last through that type of abuse and what we put them through.”
Gardner mentioned the issues of terrain within the town of Thermopolis. He said, “We have two police package Explorers, they’re a good vehicle but they are much smaller and lower to the ground like a car. The way Thermopolis streets are with the dips and the big hills, they are not as efficient in getting around because of that.”
Gardner added that “in Thermopolis with the size of the town, the traffic, these new vehicles can last about five to six years. You don’t want to keep a vehicle much over 70,000 miles because they start to get weakened. So when they come to 70,000 it’s time to start looking at getting rid of them.”
The money for the purchase of the two SUVs came from the 1-cent tax budget. The two vehicles totaled $83,000. It includes the vehicle, all the equipment that goes inside, and brand new radios. Chief Mathews said that the brand new mobile radios were purchased through the Homeland Security Grant that they acquired.
Regarding additional equipment for the SUV, Officer Gardner explains the light bars they reused. He said, “With the lighting, we were able to reuse light bars. We got a donation from the Douglas Police Department. We were really fortunate that the city of Riverton allowed their city shop to help us for a thousand dollars, which is normally $2,700 for a fitting. They really helped us with that to keep the cost down. The camera and radar systems that are in them, I put those in for us, because it saves money. They were used out of the vehicles we traded-in.”
Gardner added, “A lot of times big agencies buy everything brand new. The old stuff you pile up in light bars. The stuff we have is still really good equipment and so we try to reuse it on at least two new vehicles. The next time these new vehicles get replaced it will need new light bars.”
Chief Mathews said she was hoping by going to Chevy they would hold up for a longer time than other models. The previous models they had were Fords and Dodge. Chevy is what Border Patrol uses, Highway Patrol has several of them. Mathews said, “There was a lot of investigation to see what was probably the best purchase for our money and that it’s going to last longer.”
Officer Gardner also commented about the various things Chief Mathews has done for the officers. He said Chief Mathews is “trying to make our jobs easier so we can serve the community better. In just a year she’s been here she’s gotten us new vehicles, obviously safer vehicles, safer us and safer for the people we have to transport. She has issued us all Samsung tablets, which we use for cameras. It saves money from buying separate cameras. We can record and do reports from those tablets in the field which puts us on the street more. She’s gone away from duty belts that we carry all our equipment on our waist. She’s purchased us load-bearing vests where our ballistic vest is now carried on the outside. A lot of our equipment goes up onto that which saves our backs. Back problems are the most common thing cops deal with just because of the weight we carry on our waist. She’s given us new alcohol sensors. She’s working with all agencies and sources for funding. She’s done a lot for us.”
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