Bradley sheriff rolls out new cars

CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Eleven gleaming new blue and gold cars were showcased Thursday by the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Tim Gobble said the cars will replace some vehicles with 250,000 or more miles. He said motorists will continue to see the usual white patrol cars on the road while the fleet is replaced over time.

Ten will be used as patrol vehicles and one will be assigned to the department’s corrections division, the sheriff said.

The cars cost about $21,000 apiece, and each has been equipped with about $13,000 worth of onboard technology.

“We think it will enhance the performance of our deputies’ ability to perform their jobs in the field,” Sheriff Gobble said. “It is going to provide greater protection to the public as well as to our deputies by getting them out of the older cars.”

The cars represent a new look and a new direction for the department, Mr. Gobble said.

The equipment includes digital cameras, mobile data consoles, radar, upgraded radios and a new design for the emergency lights.

Lt. Mike Boggess explained that the lights can intensify or dim with the flip of a switch, depending on conditions, or become directional signals for approaching traffic.

Department personnel, several Bradley County commissioners and County Mayor D. Gary Davis came to see the new cars and to drive them slowly around the justice center.

Several inmates who work in the department garage and helped get the new cars ready for the road watched the demonstration.

The sheriff thanked county commissioners and taxpayers for the cars, which were included in the budget for 2007-08.

The county’s traditional plan is to buy 10 new patrol cars each year for three consecutive years, then skip a year.

But Mr. Gobble said the county may continue to buy cars instead of skipping a year this cycle. He said detective cars are paid for out of the drug fund.

Mr. Davis said county officials are glad to see the new cars.

“Fuel efficiency is one reason, of course, but also getting the 11 high-mileage cars off the streets,” he said.

“Working together, we will be able to do more next year and the next year,” he said. “There’s about $300,000 to $400,000 worth of cars hitting the streets here and that’s a good thing. We know more are needed and we will be able to do those in the future, hopefully.”

Corrections officer Lt. Allan Walshalready has had one new car on the road, transporting a prisoner.

“When you have been driving a car with 300,000 miles, there’s no comparison,” he said.

“I was telling someone earlier there was so much play in my old car, you just about wreck the new ones. They are so tight you have to be careful,” he said.

Four months ago Sheriff Gobble faced county officials across a courtroom, after he asked the court for more money for deputies’ pay and to replace aging patrol cars he called unsafe.

The court decided in favor of the county.