Roseville Police Bringing Out New Chevy Tahoes To Replace Crown Victorias

ROSEVILLE (CBS13) — If you live in Roseville, you might notice something new on the streets that you paid for.

The Roseville Police Department will soon switch its entire fleet to SUVs instead of sedans.

The days of Crown Victoria cruisers are over. Soon Chevy Tahoes will be parked in at the police station. The department already has a few of them on the street with 30 expected on the road by the end of May.

Taxpayers footing the $60,000 apiece bill wonder if its more expensive to have the Tahoes.

Officer Dan Wanamaker says one of the biggest reasons for switching from a smaller sedan to an SUV was space and weight limits.

"In the Ford Taurus was one of the platforms we looked at, it was about 900 pounds, once we put two officers, a prisoner, and with all the gear, we'll exceed that pretty quickly," he siad.

Officers carry more and more equipment these days in the field.

The Tahoe costs a few thousands dollars more than the other options like Ford. Wanamaker says the cost up front is more, but in the long run, the Tahoes are a cheaper investment with a higher resale value, and they are safer.

"Any time you increase the weight of the car, the heavier the car, the safer it is, so absolutely—it will be safer for the officers involved in a vehicle collision," he said.

The new Tahoes will all have high-tech traction control to help maneuver during high-speed chases, and Wanamaker says the Tahoes actually get better mileage than the Crown Victoria.