Image via LVMPD
To the shock, dismay, and even bemusement of many, Las Vegas Metro Police Department recently announced it’s adding a fleet of Tesla Cybertrucks to its motor pool. While some will dismiss this as a crazy kind of think one would expect out of Sin City, others believe it’s a sign of things to come with other law enforcement agencies.
Oracle’s police Cybertruck concept from over a year ago could be inching toward reality.
The announcement about the Cybertrucks being added to the police fleet was made by LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill during the State of the Department address on February 25. It will be the largest fleet of all-electric trucks used by a police department in the country, or at least that’s the claim. We don’t know of another one that’s larger, so that could be true.
Not only will the Teslas be used for patrolling around the city, some will be used by the SWAT team.
Not only will the Cybertrucks bring cutting-edge tech to the department, Sheriff McMahill said they’ll provide greater protection to the rank and file members. “The cop inside will be safe no matter what, it will stop bullets,” he said.
While it’s true the stainless steel body panels on a Cybertruck will stop some bullets, especially more common rounds, some higher-powered or faster ammunition has been shown as able to penetrate. In other words, they’re not quite as armored as something like a BearCat, but they also don’t cost nearly as much.
The department did say the Cybertrucks will be used in concert with the semi-autonomous drones already in use with shot-spotting tech. The plan is to continue expanding the use of that technology, although it’s not entirely clear how the all-electric pickups will help with that objective.
Among the objections to adding Cybertrucks to LVMPD is the cost. But Sheriff McMahill made it clear they were all paid for by a “very generous donation” by an anonymous person.
Still, the use of EVs in policing is a controversial topic. Sheriff McMahill believes the Cybertrucks will help with recruiting and “inject humanity” into how the community views cops.
We think this could be the early edge of a trend of law enforcement agencies adopting Cybertrucks for at least some duties. Many are probably eagerly watching to see what LVMPD and others experience before they too will take the plunge.
Source: LVMPD, KWTX
Images via LVMPD
