Allan Appel Photo
Training officer Ekram Halim with one of the 20 new “Cannondale Law Enforcement 2, second edition” bikes.
The bikes have 24 gears, one-and-a-half-inch frame and tires sturdy enough to chase bad guys up and down steps. The cruisers have smaller but more powerful engines, better gas mileage, better positioned computers, and more secure prisoner cages than their predecessor. The chief also thinks they’re better looking.
Those were some of the features hailed Thursday afternoon as the department staged a roll-out at the training academy on Sherman Parkway of the force’s first six Dodge Charger police cruisers and 20 Cannondale mountain bikes, the newest vehicles to join the police fleet.
The Charger purchases are part of the regular rolling restocking of the fleet as well as an experiment. All the other cruisers are Ford Crown Victorias, the standard police vehicle not only in New Haven but across the nation.
Ford has stopped making its Crown Victoria Interceptor. So departments all across the country are experimenting with a substitute, said Chief Dean Esserman.
If the feedback is good, more Chargers will be purchased. Assistant Chief Luiz Casanova said the department thinks this car is the one, “but it all depends on feedback” of the officers driving.
“The computer is more centered and easier [to use] for a big guy like myself,” said Fair Haven District Manager Sgt. Herb Johnson.
Department chief mechanic Tim Hatch said the Crown Victorias are 250-horsepower vehicles, whereas the Charge has 297 horsepower, so the new vehicles have more power and better fuel mileage as well. Hatch also likes the prisoner “cage” with its strong plexiglass divider. That’s not a new feature but the design has improved, he said. In the past some prisoners have stretched out in the back seat and kicked out the windows of the cruisers. Hatch is in charge of maintaining the new Chargers along with the scores of Crown Victorias, the last group of which was purchased by the department in October 2011.
Two New Bikes Per District
The 20 bikes were purchased with a $25,000 “Justice Assistance Grant” that the department won from the federal Department of Justice. That’s $1,200 for each bike plus the specially tailored equipment for each; that includes flashing lights, siren, and a Velcro-attached removable bag for police gear above the rear wheel.
Officer Halim called the bikes particularly versatile and durable with a low-gloss finish that resists scratches. The first group of ultimately 70 bike-trained officers have been training for five weeks including riding 20 miles a day, doing exercises up and down curbs and stairs, and at night
“Look at them, not a scratch,” said Halim, who has conducted the bike training along with Officer Diego Quintero.
The 20 new bikes will supplement the small fleet of eight bicycles that the department currently has.
Whereas bikes in the past have been deployed to individual officers, these 20 will go to the city’s ten police districts, where each manager has a pool of trained officers to choose from. It’s up to the manager to decide which of the beat officers will use the bikes to supplement walking beats. Managers will have discretion to assign walking beats to up to two days a week on bike. (Click here to read about two of those cops’ initial experiences.)
Esserman praised the new equipment, then added, “First rate cars, bikes, equipment … What’s already first rate are the officers.”
Back-seat prisoner holding area with plexiglass divide.
“The great thing about bikes is you can cover more territory. Kids love them. [It] helps us achieve the community policing goals,” said Casanova.
The new police Chargers and Cannondales will hit the streets beginning on Friday.