drivetime

December 2007

Low-speed Chase
by Perry Neel, photography by Woods Pierce

Eightyone drivetime december 2007

Lt. Joe Simmons is not sure how big the motor is or how fast it will go. His 2002 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor seldom gets challenged in the Town of Bridgewater. “We aren’t reaching high speeds in a small town,” he points out. “It’s mainly 30 [miles per hour] throughout, unless it is a residential section, where it is 25.” In fact, around Bridgewater, if the speed limit reaches 55, you are out of town. Despite the low speeds, “We still write our share of tickets. We are always greeted with open arms,” Simmons says.

The Crown Vic is a 4.6-liter, overhead cam V8 that pushes 235 horsepower at 4750 rpm. More than enough for small-town police chases.

The Bridgewater Police Department has four Crown Vics, two Dodge Intrepids, and a Ford Explorer. Simmons has mostly had experience with the Chevrolet Caprice, when he was with the county sheriff’s office, and now the Ford. He prefers the rear-wheel drive of the Fords and Chevys. Whatever the make, police cruisers today are fairly standard, equipped with the features and gear needed for law enforcement. There are roof-mounted strobe lights and rear deck panel and corner strobes. Now they’re all LED and piercingly bright. The siren is adjustable with a high and low pitch and a wail. All are controlled at a center console which includes a communications radio and a scanner to monitor fire and rescue calls.

Each officer is issued a cell phone. “Typically, all our calls are on the radio,” says Simmons. But the phone is used to relay “sensitive information.” There are still plenty of people who eavesdrop on police radio on their home scanners. Cars also have radar for checking speeders and in-car video cameras that start recording when the strobes are activated. The forward camera can zoom in at the push of a button to get tag numbers. The rear camera monitors prisoners in custody in the back seat. All video is transferred to a computer so that any call or arrested can be quickly researched and retrieved.

The back seat in a police car is secured by a cage. It is a mini jail cell to protect the officer and his front seat-mounted Bushmaster rifle and Remington shotgun. It also is for the protection of the person in custody. And yes, officers do shield an offender’s head when putting him in the car. “There is not very much room,” points out Simmons. And while wearing handcuffs, “a person can get off balance. … Once in our custody, it is our liability,” he says.

A well-organized trunk is essential for a police car. There are flares and traffic cones. Stop strips which are used to deflate car tires and disable a fleeing vehicle. Materials for gathering evidence. A drug testing kit. Leashes for dogs. Police tape and a measuring wheel to figure distances like skid marks. A fire extinguisher. Tools, “in case you have to take license plates off,” and things like that. And one of the newer items, stuffed animals. Simmons says they are useful when having to deal with young children at crime scenes or auto accidents.

Even the outside of a police cruiser is specially equipped. They have a super suspension system underneath. A spotlight mounted on the doorframe. Multiple antenna on the trunk lid. And a heavy-duty push bar on the front. Every inch seems to be useful. The front passenger seat usually holds the officer’s duty bag, which amounts to a portable office holding the uniform traffic citation books, materials for interviews and crime scene investigations, and of course the ubiquitous rubber gloves.

Simmons knows that the police cruiser can be both a welcome and an unwelcome sight. Last year some college students went on an egging spree. “The whole town was hit,” according to Simmons. Including most of the police cars. “By chance, they used a credit card for buying the eggs,” he recalls. It was easy to track them down. It’s not very often five and a half dozen eggs are purchased at once. Â