Tesla As Police Cars In Georgia Already Under Evaluation

The acceptance of Tesla Inc. electric vehicles (EVs) as police patrol cars in the United States plods forward with the Brookhaven Police Department in Georgia acquiring a single used Tesla Model S for evaluation purposes.

The city of Brookhaven, however, has a long-term plan to replace its police fleet with EVs. The infrastructure for more electric charging stations is also included in this new project.

The Brookhaven PD, thus, becomes only the fourth police department in the United States to deploy Teslas. The other three are the Fremont Police Department in California (which acquired a Model S for testing last month), the Los Angeles Police Department and the Denver Police Department in Colorado. LAPD and DPD use the Model S.

Brookhaven PD bought the Model S with $45,000 in confiscated funds. It said the acquisition is part of a city-wide sustainable initiative that will eventually replace all police patrol cars and other city vehicles with EVs, said city officials.

The Brookhaven PD Model S will soon undergo performance tests at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth County. If the EV performs well, more electric vehicles like this one will be added to the fleet.

“I don’t know of any other city this side of the Mississippi that is testing an electric vehicle platform for patrol vehicles,” said City Manager Christian Sigman. “Other cities have electric cars for city planners, code enforcement and other officials. That’s not uncommon. We will be the first to use them for law enforcement patrol operations.”

City officials said the pre-owned Model S had 22,000 miles on the odometer and has a 100,000-mile, eight-year warranty. The Tesla won’t be put into official use and onto city streets until after the testing, said city officials.

It will undergo field testing for endurance and speed on a specialized track at the training center. The data of the Tesla’s tests will be compared to current patrol cars and to determine the feasibility of how to move forward with EVs.

If cleared to be used as a Brookhaven patrol car, the Model S will be tested for six months before a final decision is made to purchase more electric cars.

Brookhaven City Hall has one electric car charger and plans are to replace this with four smart chargers in the next three months. The new Skyland Park has one electric car charging station and the city is planning to add two charging stations at Blackburn Park in anticipation of more Tesla EVs joining the police force.

Brookhaven’s new public safety headquarters (which will soon be built) overlooking the Peachtree Creek Greenway will be equipped with four electric car chargers for public use and another four in a secure area where police officers will park.