Easthampton police force seeks new steed for street
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EASTHAMPTON - It's Robocop. It's Inspector Gadget. Actually, it's the city police with a versatile new patrol vehicle that runs on the financial equivalent of nearly 500 miles per gallon.
Community Resource Officer Alan Schadel zipped down Union and Cottage streets Friday on an electric scooter that costs approximately a quarter to run for 30 miles. The Easthampton department is trying out the scooter through Tuesday, and is seeking a state grant to acquire one. If the grant application is successful, the police say they will be the first department in Hampshire County to begin incorporating the scooters into their police work.
The T3 Motion is similar to Segway scooters that police use in Holyoke, New York City, and elsewhere, but it has a third wheel on the front, which officers say gives it more stability.
Police say they plan to use it to supplement their walking and bicycle beats that are implemented in the warmer months.
Police Chief Bruce McMahon, Detective Robert Alberti, and Community Resource Officer Alan Schadel gathered behind the public safety complex on Payson Avenue Friday for a public demonstration of the department's new tool.
Mayor Michael A. Tautznik and City Councilor Joy E. Winnie each took a spin around the parking lot on the three-wheeler, wearing a helmet, of course.
Tautznik zoomed away next door to the Municipal Building and could be seen riding back down Payson Avenue, clearly enjoying a short break from his corner-office duties.
The lithium battery–powered vehicle can reach speeds of 25 mph and has lights and a siren, as well as a zero turning radius, which means it can literally turn on a dime in tight spaces, McMahon said.
Tautznik said that saving on fuel costs and adding to the police arsenal seemed like a good move.
"It's a good use of electric power, and if it saves fuel, it makes a lot of sense," he said.
And while police likely won't be offering any more test rides to civilians, many in the city witnessed the vehicle firsthand Thursday, as Schadel spent the majority of his shift cruising the business district.
He even responded to an ambulance call, beating the ambulance to the scene.
"Everyone in the bars came out to see it," Schadel said. "It's very cool."
What is even cooler, said McMahon, is that the city is likely going to acquire one of the $9,000 vehicles for free.
McMahon plans to include the request in a community policing grant application that he submits each September to the Executive Office of Public Safety - grant awards are announced several months later.
McMahon said that past funding through the grant program has left him confident about the department's prospects.
The department receives approximately $18,000 per year, which it typically uses for overtime pay at various community events. McMahon said he will request a little more this year to fund the vehicle.
For now, police have the demo model until Tuesday. It was delivered Thursday by Marlboro-based MHQ Municipal Vehicles, the largest emergency-vehicle supplier in the country. MHQ signed a contract with California-based T3 to distribute the vehicles throughout the Northeast, according to a press release, so the vehicles could be more common in years to come.
Northampton Police Capt. Kenneth Patenaude said Friday that he has heard of the vehicles but that his department does not currently plan to get one.
"There may be future plans, but right now we haven't examined the T3s," he said. "We'd have to look at it to see if it would be useful in our community."
Amherst police also said Friday that they did not have immediate plans to acquire any of the vehicles.
Matt Pilon can be reached at mpilon@gazettenet.com.
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