Westport CT's Tesla Model 3 police cruiser - one year and 13,000 miles later
Westport Police purchased the first EV in Connecticut for active police duty in 2019, and while the COVID-19 pandemic has seen the car travel less than the department had been expecting, the Tesla Model 3 Long Range dual motor variant has now covered 13,000 miles (21,000 kilometres).
Police Chief Foti Koskinas happily gave a tour of the vehicle and update regarding its service at last weekend’s EV Freedom event in Westport. Chief Koskinas stated in the video that the Model 3 police cruiser has used about US$600 worth of electricity over 13,000 miles, and that they’re already way past break even with this car on the fleet.
While the Model 3 police cruiser is only used for traffic duties—excluding prisoner transport at this stage—Chief Koskinas stated that the car is capable of performing two 8-hour back to back shifts without requiring a charge.
The rear compartment is perfectly sized to hold emergency equipment, handguns and larger firearms, while the front trunk or “frunk” is a very convenient storage option for emergency medical equipment.
There are a number of benefits in choosing Tesla for police duties; namely the built in cameras can be adapted for police use, rather than having to retrofit thousands of dollars worth of external cameras. Antennas and radio equipment can be easily incorporated into the vehicle’s frame and glass roof, giving the Tesla Model 3 police cruiser a very clean look.
The only drawback according to Chief Koskinas is that the headlights will switch off after 45 seconds upon stopping the vehicle, which is unsuitable for police duties. He stated that Tesla is working with the department to recode this however.
Electric vehicles have huge benefits to police departments in terms of running costs, but there are also benefits to officer health, ease of operation, flexibility in customisation, reducing emissions and of course on-road performance. While municipal and state governments across the world have been a little hesitant at adopting battery electric vehicles, mainly due to issues around range performance, we’re certainly seeing the tide changing; Thai police have a number of Tesla Model 3’s on their fleet, Freemont, CA has run a successful trial with a Tesla Model S, and, Closer to home, Victoria, Australia has a Tesla Model X for highway patrol duties while the New South Wales Police has recently taken delivery of a Hyundai Kona Electric.
Source: Paul Braren on YouTube