![]() Said Chief Bertram, "I’d recommend electric vehicles for most police departments. When the car is stationary, even if it’s using lights, heat, or air conditioning, it consumes much less power. Our officers can do that while they are back at the department doing paperwork."īut there is a difference between the mileage and the operating time an EV can get from one charge, because most battery power is used by the drive motor. "All cars have to be up to 80 percent before they go out, and powering up our Teslas from 50 to 80 percent with their fast chargers takes about 20 to 30 minutes. "And we require that all cars be recharged when they drop to 50 percent power, which is the same requirement for gas fueled vehicles, which must be refilled at half a tank. But this is because our typical patrol shift is 80 to 150 miles, which is easily covered by a fully charged car. Says Todd Bertram, chief of the Bargersville (Indiana) Police Department, "We’ve been using Tesla EV’s as patrol cars since 2019, and charging has never been a problem. Direct current (DC) chargers are much faster than regular alternating current (AC) chargers and can take less than 20 minutes to charge an electric car up to 80 percent. Most agencies use the 240 Volt Level 2 chargers, which can refill a large battery that is half full up to 80 percent in a few hours. Powered by lithium batteries, EVs need to be recharged at intervals that vary according to the size of the battery and speed of the charger. Though purchasing an EV or HEV would seem to be a “no-brainer” for both financial and environmental reasons, there are pros and cons for doing so, most of which are related to their intended use. As gasoline prices rise, an increasing number of police departments are adding electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) to their fleets.
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