Photo: Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review
The Spokane, Washington City Council approved just under $2.4 million to be spent on police vehicles on Monday, including as many as eight electric vehicles, according to The Spokesman-Review.
The funding will be dedicated to a total of 35 police vehicles, set to replace an aging fleet.
The vote on Monday will oversee the purchase of 25 Ford Police Interceptors, two diesel Chevy Tahoes, five Ford Mustang Mach-E units and three Ford F-150 Lightning trucks. Tesla vehicles were not part of the final choices.
Spokane police said earlier this month that the Model Y was “not suitable” as a patrol cruiser, largely due to how small the front seat of the vehicle was.
Spokane Police Major Michael McNab also emphasized previously expressed concerns about using electric vehicles as patrol cruisers.
Spokane Police Dept. Gives Early Tesla Model Y Review https://t.co/S8FL2sWdBM
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) November 5, 2021
McNab said, “I have a number of concerns about the reliability of an electric car doing patrol work.” McNab continued, “This is a high-stakes environment. Life-and-death situations with police work — something we should not be experimenting with.”
The council also approved $90,000 to buy and install charging hardware for electric vehicles, and $100,000 to study police fleet maintenance, inventory and makeup.
Funding for the new police vehicles will come from around $81 million paid out to the city from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, as received last year from Congress.
