By Kyle Wallace, staff writer
The university police department upgraded its vehicle fleet to improve patrol efforts around campus.
The upgrades include two new 2015 Chevrolet Tahoes and a refurbished utility task vehicle.
New vehicles were purchased due to rising maintenance costs associated with the older cars and to increase the visibility of the police department, Chief Bradd Brown said.
One of the vehicles in the department’s fleet, a 2006 Dodge Charger, was damaged Jan. 4 in an electrical fire. The fire occurred at the 7-Eleven gas station located west of the university at Northwest 23rd Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
The police department has been saving for new vehicles for several years. Money was put into a fund, which came from the department’s budget by selling old vehicles, and a donation from President Robert Henry. Insurance money from the Charger also will be used to purchase additional vehicles in the future.
“Part of what’s important I think on campus is to provide a presence of the police,” Brown said. “Visibility is important as a deterrent to anything we might have around here.”
The Tahoes were chosen because of their height, allowing officers to see better when patrolling, Brown said.
The new vehicles will be beneficial to the police department, said Devin Murphy, marketing senior.
“I think it’s going to help better mobilize police,” Murphy said.
While the utility task vehicle may appear brand new, it was already in the department’s fleet. The vehicle was repaired by university staff and, according to Brown only cost between $200 and $300.
A utility task vehicle is essentially a more powerful golf cart designed to travel over rough terrain.
President Henry donated his own 2010 Tahoe to the police department, which was traded in for a 2015 police-equipped Tahoe.
The first Tahoe cost the department around $28,000, but the second Tahoe only cost roughly $2,000 thanks to the trade-in of Henry’s donated vehicle.
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