Sheriff’s Office Searches For New Vehicles

WALLA WALLA - The vehicles driven every day by the Walla Walla County Sheriff's deputies have been discontin­ued because they are no longer safe.

The phasing out of the Ford Crown Victoria, used by the deputies, was prompted by the new 2012 highway safety stan­dards, which that vehicle model cannot meet without a serious redesign, officials say.

Members of the sheriff's office presented options to replace the long-time standard at a special meeting with the Walla Walla County Commis­sioners on Tuesday, Aug 14.

The Ford Crown Victoria has been a staple police vehicle in the sheriff's office and in the United Satets for the last 25 years, Sgt. Robert Clendaniel of the Walla Walla Sheriff's Office said.

"We are currently at a (point of) major change in patrol ve­hicles," Clendaniel said.

Clendaniel said Ford consid­ered a number of options before deciding to discontinue making the vehicle, including updating the Crown Victoria. But the vehicle couldn't be updated to meet safety standards without reengineering the car.

The department's fleet con­tains models of the Crown Victoria from 2005 to 2011, but as the older vehicles will be re­placed, a new model will need to come in.

"We've always had to re­place vehicles every year," Clendaniel said. "This is noth­ing new."

Clendaniel said the county has known for about five years that the Crown Victoria would be discontinued and the sher­iff's office has been searching for a model to use as a replace­ment. County staff members have considered the Chevy Impala, Dodge Charger, Chevy Caprice, Chevy Tahoe and the Ford Police Interceptor.

The sheriff's office start­ed purchasing vehicles that seemed like they would be the best fit. After testing a few of the vehicles out on the street, it was clear there would be issues with any model they switched to, Clendaniel said. Some ve­hicles had poor fuel economy, weren't made in the U.S., had expensive parts, high mainte­nance costs, lacked trunk space or just plain didn't drive well in emergency situations.

Just when the prospects looked the most bleak, one competitor pulled in front of the rest.

Clendaniel and Sheriff John Turner attended a Ford ve­hicle presentation in Everett to showcase the new Ford Police Interceptor.

Admittedly, Clendaniel said, he went into the presentation with a closed mind, thinking the vehicle wouldn't be right for the sheriff's office. After a test drive of both the sedan and small SUV models of the Inter­ceptor, he was sold.

"(The Interceptor) will run the doors off of the Crown Vic­toria," Clendaniel said. "And it even outperforms the Dodge Charger."

The all wheel drive vehicle is built from the ground up specifi­cally as a police vehicle, touting a six cylinder turbo motor with a heads up operation design allowing officers to switch on lights and sirens without looking away from the road.

Deputy Gerrod Martin em­phasized the importance of the setup and said as the emergency driving instructor, the time lost looking down at a panel to switch on lights and sirens, even just two seconds, could result in serious or even fatal accidents.

Martin said the all wheel drive design allows him to teach every officer the same method of emergency driving without re-teaching drivers to switch from front-wheel-drive vehicles to rear-wheel-drive vehicles.

The Interceptor is also built to sustain a 75-mph impact to the rear, which is essential when the vehicle is parked on a scene or waiting to make a traffic stop.

"That's important to me if I'm inside the vehicle or around the vehicle," Martin said.

Interior safety will be im­proved greatly as well with an interior designed with support­ive seats and space for bulky belts to fit.

Martin said another impor­tant change is the laptop mount, which in most of the current vehicles extends into the pas­senger seat and is in the direct path of the airbag. There have been numerous incidents of officers in accidents being hit in the face by the laptop screen, which launches across the cab and can break a nose, teeth or cause lacerations or a concus­sion in an accident.

The office does not currently have an official price for the purchase of the new vehicles, but expects to present it to the board of commissioners soon.

"These are our offices, we live in these cars," Clendaniel said. "And (purchasing a vehi­cle like this) is imperative from an equipment point of view and for our safety."