The Leawood Police Department in Johnson County, Kansas, has added a Tesla Model Y electric vehicle to its patrol fleet, joining other police departments shifting to greener and cleaner vehicles.
The newly-painted black and white Model Y outfitted with lights and more (outfitted by Ka-Comm Inc. in Olathe), was added to the Leawood Police fleet this week, after doing research last year on adding an all-electric car to its fleet, instead of hybrid vehicles.
“I ended up contacting about 10 agencies from New York to California,” said Captain Kirt Yoder, the agency’s project manager, speaking to KSHB. “Tesla-Kansas City was great. They were eager to help and answer all our questions.”
Over a year ago, Leawood determined a Ford Explorer patrol SUV would cost roughly $4,500 per year in energy costs (gas was at $1.75/gallon at the time), while a Tesla would have cost $648 per year (at $0.08 kilowatt/hour).
The police department was given the green light to proceed with the Tesla patrol vehicle last August, after giving a presentation to city council. The city says it believes the Tesla will offer a four-year service life, longer than the Ford Explorer it replaces.
“I think electric vehicles are going to be the future and this is going to be a good foundation for us,” added Yoder. “Some officers have concerns because this is a smaller vehicle and the extra equipment (of a patrol car) eats into their work space, but others are excited for the new technology.”
Leawood Police will be displaying its new Tesla Model Y patrol car on July Fourth at Leawood City Park, for everyone to check it out.
