Berea Police are testing electric cars as cruisers

BEREA, Kentucky (WKYT) – Berea may be the first Kentucky city to dive into the electric car market with police cruisers.

Is that the future of the police? Berea Police Chief Eric Scott believes it is.

“I am 36 years old. I have 20 something plus years. So it will be while I am still alive that I will order vehicles and it will be EVehicles, ”said Chief Scott.

So what does that look like? It looks like Tesla police cruisers and eight charging stations lined up behind the police station.

So what does that look like? It looks like Tesla police cruisers and eight charging stations lined up behind the police station.(WKYT)

“What we are doing here in Berea is to think ahead. We’re trying to say, ‘You know what, we know it’s falling by the wayside, let’s start slowly,’ ”said Chief Scott. “We’re going to do two or three cars at the same time.”

Mayor Bruce Fraley also thought the time was right to take electric vehicles with them. The Honda / Hitachi plant in town is preparing to produce electric motors next year. The cost of the Model 3 Tesla was also good compared to the gas powered cruisers.

“You save us money. I’ve already saved $ 7,000 this year, three vehicles, on fuel alone. This does not include the increase in fuel. This is not the same as last year’s fuel numbers, ”said Mayor Fraley. “I save taxpayers money because in reality there is no maintenance. The only liquid on this thing is windshield washer fluid. “

Berea owns its utility, so in a way they pay for themselves every time they plug in. The mayor is not entirely ready to commit to buying more Teslas. Only three of the 33 police cars are electric.

So what does that look like? It looks like Tesla police cruisers and eight charging stations lined up behind the police station.(WKYT)

He would like some more time to study the cost and usage of the cars. However, he also sees a day when other departments of the city administration are receiving power.

“We have meter readers who have expressed an interest, we have an IT director who has expressed an interest in an electric vehicle,” said Mayor Fraley. “So, not just the police, but also our codes and planning, that is, if it’s mostly local, our public works departments are mostly local if they don’t have to have a big truck. I think electric vehicles are something that will be viable in the near future. “

“We have no choice but to be honest with you,” said Chief Scott. “If you look at the big car dealers, they all made promises that by 2030 they will be fully EV. Whenever I order from Ford or Dodge or whoever one day and they say we only have one electric vehicle, I say ‘perfect’. We are ready for that. We built the infrastructure. “

Ford has announced that forty percent of vehicles sold worldwide will be electric by 2030. The brands GM, Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep also set themselves this goal. Currently, just over four percent of all vehicles sold in the United States this year are electric or hybrid vehicles.

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