By J.D. Capelouto
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BROOKHAVEN, Ga. — Brookhaven residents may soon see police officers doing patrols in a fully electric luxury car.
The police department purchased a previously owned 2015 Tesla Model S for $45,000 using confiscated funds, the city said in a statement Friday. Now that they’ve put the Brookhaven police logo on the side, the department is putting the Tesla “through rigorous field testing to see if it would make a better option to the police patrol cars now in use.”
When Brookhaven bought it, the Tesla had about 22,000 miles on it.
Now, the city is looking into the possibility of having an all-electric fleet of police cruisers.
“I don’t know of any other city this side of the Mississippi that is testing an electric vehicle platform for patrol vehicles. 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,” Brookhaven City Manager Christian Sigman said in a statement.
City officials said the Tesla speaks to the city’s environmental goals and its set of policies known as Sustainable Brookhaven.
Brookhaven has several electric car charging stations installed and in the works, and is aiming to make its new public safety headquarters as environmentally friendly as possible.
“We are always looking for ways to reduce our impact on the environment, improve our air quality and conserve resources for future generations,” Mayor John Ernst said in the statement.
©2019 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.)