The Police Department in Ann Arbor, Michigan is purchasing two Ford Mustang Mach-E’s to add to its patrol fleet. Photo: Ford
Police departments all over the United States have started adding electric vehicles (EVs) to their patrol fleets, in order to make a move towards sustainability in policing.
On Saturday, Michigan Live reported that the Ann Arbor Police Department (AAPD) has been approved by city council to purchase two 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-Es, set to replace old cruisers that have reached the department’s term limits.
The department will spend $93,926 (USD) for the EVs, with $30,549 from the city’s sustainability office going towards the purchase.
New York Village Debuts Tesla Model Y Police Cruiser https://t.co/2zy73yH8As
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) December 27, 2020
The move comes shortly after Ann Arbor city council approved a $348,308 (USD) deal with the police team for new dashboard camera in all AAPD cars.
While Ann Arbor police does not currently use facial recognition technology, some residents are concerned about the department’s purchase and use of technologies, especially facial recognition, following protests and calls to police accountability throughout 2020.
Adam Oxner, a local who addressed Ann Arbor city council after it was discovered that AAPD had secured a cloud data storage agreement with Axon Enterprise, told councilmembers, “Facial recognition technology has been proven over and over again to be biased and used mostly to surveil lower-income communities and communities of color.” Oxner continued, “It is exactly this type of technology used by police that we need strong citizen oversight of.”
In any case, any move to lowered emissions is a positive one, and as communities continue to gain access to all that EVs have to offer, those hired to serve and protect will likely continue doing the same.
