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A California police department wants to be the first agency to have a law enforcement-branded Cybertruck, according to an internal email obtained by 404 Media.

The email Sergeant Jacob Gallacher, of the Anaheim Police Department, sent in early February read “P.S. I spoke with the Chief yesterday and we still want to be the first police agency to have a Cybertruck. If anyone can make that happen, I know it is you!” Gallacher sent the email to James Hedland from UP.FIT, a company that sells modified Teslas for use by law enforcement. The email was part of a conversation about the department’s use of Teslas.

Gallacher later told 404 Media that the email was something of “a joke,” but reaffirmed the agency’s wish to obtain a Cybertruck before other agencies, even if more for “community engagement” than using it as a patrol vehicle.

“We would, but it’s not necessarily from a patrol perspective,” Gallacher said. 404 Media obtained the email through a public records request.

  • OldWoodFrame
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    2 months ago

    Part of being the police is advertising that there are police here, as a deterrent. This works well for that.

    But another part is having fast, reliable vehicles able to out maneuver other cars on the road, to stop criminals after the fact. Not so good at that part.

    • VanillaBean@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Eh chases aren’t that common. Most of the time police won’t pursue because it puts the public in more danger. Especially populated areas.

      • scoobford@lemmy.zip
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        1 month ago

        Sort of. EVs are very fast off the line, but generally very heavy. It might be good for handing out speeding tickets on a freeway, but a pursuit on surface streets would probably not go as well.

        It’s also a fairly tall EV. I bet if you slid into a curb or something, it’ll roll like Peppy Hare.

        Assuming the thing worked as advertised and they get a VERY steep discount, it might be a good idea?