By DOUG MILLER
The Dodge Charger police cruisers, which have received a tremendous amount of media hype since they were publicly endorsed by the New York City Police Department last year, will cost the city about $27,768 per car, and include lights, sirens, cages and plastic rear seats, which usually cost extra to install.
These Chargers are the grandchildren of the original hot-rod Chargers from the 1960s that were the outlaw's car of choice in everything from "The Dukes of Hazzard" to "Blue Velvet." The new versions aren't camera shy either, turning up on television in "The Shield" and "NCIS," to cite two popular examples. The 2006 models are far more muscular that their ancestors: according to Police Commissioner Tom Sofield Sr., these Chargers will feature the 5.7-liter V8 Hemi engines that sit at the top of the Dodge food chain.
And unlike the General Lee, these will be four-door models.
To be sure, these cars will never reach their maximum speeds, estimated at about 160 mph, on the streets of Long Beach, but Sofield said there was more to consider. "We need the power and the acceleration," Sofield said. "And the bigger engine provides more endurance."
The typical Long Beach police cruiser lasts about three years, Sofield said. Of the 11 cars currently in the department's patrol rotation, seven have well over 100,000 miles on them, and an eighth is sitting at 99,000 and change. These five Chargers would effectively demote the five oldest cruisers down to less stressful duty, such as for use by the summer specials, the auxiliary or animal control, Sofield said. The new ones could be available in as few as two to four weeks, he added.
The city will pay for the cars out of a combination of funding lines totaling $138,840.90, an expenditure City Manager Edwin Eaton described as "desperately needed."
The Council unanimously agreed - in fact, it was the first City Council meeting in memory where every item on the agenda passed without dissension - but Councilwoman Denise Tangney said it would have been nice to take care of the city's entire roster of vehicles, rather than just focusing on the police department.
"I was initially concerned that we were spending $100,000 on just police cars," she said before voting yea. "Ideally I would prefer to bond for a whole new fleet of city vehicles, but Mr. Eaton explained the benefits and prioritized it for me."
