LAPD Adds Tesla Model S To Its Fleet Of Police Cars

Four city departments – police, fire, general services, and water and power – will lease 160 battery electric vehicles. “We can’t pretend that what happens in other cities does not have an impact on how our citizens feel, or fail to recognize that we have suffered our own conflicts arising out of police actions”. Los Angeles hopes that it will have almost 300 new electric and hybrid vehicles in the fleet soon. Detectives, investigators, and administrative employees will put 100 vehicles from this new fleet order into use.

Entertainment attorney Matthew Johnson, the newest member of the Los Angeles Police Commission, was elected Tuesday to serve as its president. Some sources have suggested (with various levels of seriousness) that the cars’ almost silent engines could be an advantage for police hoping to catch a crime in progress.

The city said the two high-end electric police cars will be used for testing and research by LAPD technical experts to determine how electric cars can support their future needs.

There is no doubt that the Tesla Model showing in the auto market might have influenced the Mayor’s decision as this auto maker has proven that electric cars are not just better than the gas operated vehicles, but also can offer a lot more features like speed, mileage and lower expenditure per mile than what other gas powered cars can offer.

The department is also being loaned a BMW i3, a plug-in electric version of that German luxury auto that starts at $42,400. In addition, the Department of Water and Power and General Services will lease an additional 128 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, Garcetti said.

“Today, we take another step toward becoming the most sustainable city in America”, Garcetti said in a statement.