Once a staple of police departments across the country, Ford
Crown Victoria
The classic cop car is still featured as one of the main
photographs on the Ashland Police Department’s website. But the department
recently got rid of its last “Crown Vic,” a 2010 model used by K-9 Officer
Chris Alberini and his partner, Dax.
The Crown Vics were known for being spacious, powerful
pickup and great visibility, said Ashland Police Chief Vincent Alfano.
“It is the quintessential police cruiser,” said Alfano, who
has driven a Crown Victoria, Explorer, Taurus, Charger and Chevy Caprice for
work. “The Crown Vics stand out as the most solid, reliable workhorse. They had
all the horsepower and handling that you needed and it was just very
comfortable.”
Ford Motor Company has made police cars since the 1950s. The
Crown Victoria Police Interceptor was introduced in 1983. By 1998, the model
dominated sales of all pursuit vehicles in the U.S.
and Canada
“It truly is the end of an era and a bittersweet moment as
we bid farewell to our ‘old faithful’ Crown Victoria
Alberini now drives a 2014 Ford Police Interceptor Utility,
commonly known as an Explorer, with all the necessary equipment for Dax.
“The K-9 cruiser was not used all three shifts, so its
service life was extended,” said Alfano.
Many departments are now using one of the other sedans made
by Ford, or the Dodge Charger or Chevy Tahoe.
Alfano said police cruisers built around the body of a Ford
Taurus work well for detective and administrative work, but lack the space
needed for standard patrol work.
Cruisers now mostly come standard with all-wheel drive and
meet tougher rollover standards.
MHQ in Marlborough
40 states competed for the American Association of State
Troopers’ best police cruiser contest
Of the four Crown Vics left in Franklin
“These vehicles do not accrue mileage as fast as regularly
deployed Patrol Division vehicles,” he wrote in an email to the Daily News. “As
the four remaining CVPIs accrue mileage, years of service and eventually meet
our vehicle replacement policy, they will be replaced with Ford Police
Interceptor utilities or sedans.”
For many years, Hopkinton School Resource Officer Phil
Powers drove the department’s last Crown Vic. He often joked he’d retire with
it.
The car now sits in the parking lot waiting to be traded in
or fixed up to be used for details.
“I got attached to it, because it was a very nice car,” said
Powers, who has been with the department for 31 years. “They are going to be
extinct very shortly.”
He got to keep it longer than most because his duty as
school resource officer didn’t require a front-line car.
“What I like about it was you could see a lot better,”
Powers said. “You didn’t have as many obstacles in the car. There was more
space than the Explorers. They were closer to the ground.”
Alfano said many veteran officers, like himself, miss and
have a soft spot for the Crown Vics.
“I wish in the perfect world that Ford looked at engineering
a four-wheel drive version of the Crown Vic,” he said.
Jonathan Phelps can be reached at 508-626-4338 or
jphelps@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @JPhelps_MW.
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