BOWLING GREEN, Ky. –Tuesday afternoon, Bowling Green Police Chief Michael Delaney went before the board of commissioners who unanimously approved an emergency purchase for police vehicles. The BGPD fleet division purchased three Dodge Charger Sedans and nine Dodge Durango SUVs from a dealership in Somerset, Kentucky. The police usually order new vehicles every year, but due to the national car shortage and a police car package being so difficult to find, the BGPD has not had a new vehicle in its lot in two years. According to Captain Belden Parry, over 20 of their current cruisers exceed 100,000 miles. To ensure safety, they bought this total of 12 new vehicles to have at the ready. “We have numerous cars, almost probably around half the feet that has high mileage. Our concern is that if we don’t replace them now, we have an officer responding to a citizen in need, if that car overheats for some reason it breaks down because it’s high mileage or because it’s just getting worn out from daily use, the sooner we replace them, the safer it is for the public if we’re in a better vehicle that can get us to that location,” said Parry.The new vehicles are still in need of police striping, lights, consoles for police scanners, laptops, sirens and other work to go before they’re ready to hit the road.
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