BOULDER CITY, Nev. (FOX5) – After FOX5 aired a recent report on electric cars now outrunning the fastest police cars, we wanted to see which departments in the valley are getting behind the wheel of these EVs.
It turns out, Boulder City is one of the only departments testing them out.
Once they’re unplugged, BCPD’s EV Mustangs are off to the races, and that’s exactly how BCPD Administrative Lieutenant, Vincent Albowicz likes it because he knows that seconds count.
“Sometimes, if there’s an emergency, depending on what’s going and what the emergency is, we do have a tendency to have to get there in a hurry. So the quicker we can get there, the faster we can start saving lives,” Lieutenant Albowicz said.
Not only can they save lives, their EVs can be used in pursuits, reaching speeds of over 160 miles per hour. That could make bad guys think twice before zipping through Boulder City in just your average car.
“When you stack it against the Mach E that’s standing right behind me it, it would lose all day long. The Mach would just completely outrun it,” Lieutenant Albowicz said.
That’s something other police departments in the valley can take note of.
FOX5 called around, and found Metro PD does not have any electric vehicles at this time, neither does the Henderson Police Department.
Same goes with the North Las Vegas Police Department, with a spokesperson telling us there are no plans for the department to get them at the moment.
Lieutenant Albowicz says nearby departments should give EVs a chance.
“I would tell people not to be afraid of new technology, and as these things evolve, they get better and better and better.”
Another perk, BCPD telling us the department saved more than $80,000 in fuel costs and maintenance expenses like oil changes with the newer EV’s.
That is especially important for Boulder City, with Albowicz saying, “the city is its own utility. So, we wanted to try using electric because the city doesn’t own gas stations. We do own electricity, so it seemed like it was a natural fit.” Albowicz is referring to power from the Hoover Dam and nearby solar fields since the city is not part of Nevada Energy.
Speaking of power, Albowicz says residents near Boulder City, along with police officers, are fortunate to have a bunch of Tesla superchargers at the edge of town at Railroad Pass. They also have stations at the police department for official use.
This helps officers save time when they’re low on juice. “A lot of times the officers will be in writing reports, and they can simply just plug in, and they’re taking care of fueling the vehicle while they’re writing a report, whereas somebody in a gas-powered vehicle would actually have to write the report and then go fuel up,” Albowicz said.
As for the EVs being able to go the distance, Albowicz says not only have they not had any maintenance issues, which can take two officers off the clock for a while as they get a gas-powered vehicle serviced, their EVs can cross state lines with ease.
“We’ve actually used our EVs to travel back and forth to California for different duty assignments, training or whatever. We’ve never experienced any issues,” Albowicz said.
The Boulder City Police Department telling us the EVs are part of a pilot program.
The department is still in the testing phase to see if the cars meet the demands of rigorous police work.
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