Hemet Police Volunteers Deploy Electric Vehicle
California Assembly Bill 3229 provides for the Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Fund (SLESF). This fund is also commonly known as the Citizen’s Option for Public Safety (COPS) grant. Grant funds distributed through the COPS grant must be used to support front line law enforcement services.
The Hemet City Council approved the expenditure plan of the COPS Grant that included an electric vehicle that would be assigned to the Hemet Police Community Services Bureau. The vehicle will be used daily by our police volunteer teams during community events, volunteer patrol, and transporting volunteers to various locations in the city. The vehicle is a GEM e4 that boasts a 40 mile range on a full charge, tops out at 25 MPH, and carries four passengers and a small amount of cargo. The GEM e4 can be charged on a standard 110-volt household outlet. The vehicle is licensed through the DMV and is legal to operate on roadways as a neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV).
“The new vehicle fits perfectly with our community oriented policing goals and we always support any effort to help our volunteers make a difference in the community,” said Chief Dave Brown.
Council Member Linda Krupa who supported the vehicle purchase through the grant said, “I think it is awesome. The forward thinking of our police department not only in policing, but energy conservation and ecology is impressive and should be applauded.” The vehicle is expected to debut this week at the Valley-Wide Recreation Independence Day Celebration.
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