Plainsboro OKs purchase of 3 new police cars

By Greg Forester / Staff Writer
   PLAINSBORO — Plainsboro police officers will soon be motoring around town on a new set of wheels, after the Township Committee voted Wednesday to award an $84,421 contract for two new marked Dodge Chargers and an unmarked Crown Victoria.
   The awarding of the contract to Hertrich Fleet Services of Delaware will help the department deal with the unusual physical characteristics of two officers, who have been dealing with an uncomfortable situation when riding in the department’s older Ford marked cars.
   The two officers are over 6 feet tall, and the Chargers, while boasting an overall smaller interior than the standard Fords, offer more headroom and a more comfortable ride for the department’s two tallest officers.
   The Dodges have a deeper space in the footwell of the vehicles — where the gas and brake pedals are — meaning taller officers have more headroom, despite the smaller interior.
   "Their interior space is just a better fit for the officers," said Richard Lt. Furda, who will be taking over the chief’s position later this month.
   With the acquisition of the two marked Dodge Chargers, with a price of $33,345, over half of the department’s fleet of nine marked vehicles will consist of Dodge Chargers, according to outgoing Chief Elizabeth Bondurant.
   The new Ford, with a $25,431 price tag, will add another unmarked vehicle to the fleet, which consists of the nine marked cars, two marked SUVs, and five unmarked vehicles including a single Dodge Magnum used as a take-home vehicle for on-call officers.
   Plainsboro officials said they were aware that Dodge Chargers with smaller six-cylinder engines have drawn complaints from officers in some area police departments, but Plainsboro’s more powerful eight-cylinder Dodges have been a success with the officers.
   "We currently have four Chargers," said Lt. Furda, who has driven one of new Dodges. "They are generally well-liked, although they took a little bit getting used to."
   The vehicle purchase is part of the township’s regular replacement schedule, which helps the department replace old and worn out vehicles with newer pieces of equipment at regular intervals.
   Hertrich’s bid was one of five received by the township, although some of the responses indicated the companies could not provide all of the vehicles requested by department officials.
   Additionally, Hertrich offered the most trade-in money for the two vehicles offered by the department.
   The department will save $7,700 on the new vehicles through trading in two older vehicles for roughly $4,000 a piece to Hertrich, according to township documents.