Sergeant James Post WORKING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND I grew up and ultimately spent my 25 year career in the Midwest, actually about 250 miles from the geographical center of the contiguous United States. Love it or hate it, the Midwest is one of those places in our great country which experiences the full four seasons – that’s the plus. The minus is that, if you are working outside in those four seasons in the Midwest, you can expect temperatures…
Sergeant James Post TRANSPORTATION 2020 Welcome to our transportation issue for 2020, our annual review of everything which is new in LE vehicles and equipment for the coming year as seen at national events like the IACP Conference, Police Security Expo, Police Fleet Expo, and the Michigan State Police (MSP) vehicle tests. You’ve often heard that “hindsight is 20/20,” well, we’re here to prove that foresight is also 20/20, as we give you a huge jump start on building your…
Sergeant James Post BREAKING NEWS… Nat King Cole once sang about “Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer” and that’s what it certainly has been here in the great USA, what with floods, heat waves, politics, and criminals running amuck. Here’s the latest breaking news from the world of police wheels which you may have missed…vehicles, accessories, alerts, and recalls. Police Vehicles Electrifying news: The Arkansas Democrat Gazette announced that Harley-Davidson® released news about their electric motorcycle which will be unveiled later…
AMERICAN POLICE CAR HISTORY 101 Sergeant James Post Early spring is a great time of the year for those of us living in “four seasons” parts of America. Trees and flowers are blooming; birds are singing; and, to replace the boredom of winter, calls for service are increasing. But, spring sucks for Law Enforcement (LE) vehicle writers such as myself because the “Big Three” automakers, the motorcycle builders and the LE equipment manufacturers are either still designing, building or tweaking…
Sergeant James Post STOPPING THE BAD GUYS IN THEIR TRACKS Ever since the wild, wild west (and earlier), the bad guys have run from the good guys. Since then, we’ve been trying to figure out how to stop them before they hurt innocent citizens or one of us. Of course, we’ve always had firearms available to us, but those have been pretty much ineffective at stopping moving objects from stagecoaches to Challenger Hellcats. Fleeing felons on horseback or Ninja crotch…
Sergeant James Post TRANSPORTATION 2019 P&SN presents its 21st annual report on the latest technical advances in police vehicles, components and aftermarket equipment. Welcome to our annual transportation issue which covers all that’s new in LE transportation as gleaned from national events like the IACP Conference, National Sheriffs’ Association Annual Conference, Police Fleet Expo, and the annual Michigan State Police (MSP) vehicle evaluations. This year, we’ve rearranged a couple of sections to provide you with a faster, easier review. Our…
Sergeant James Post A CONDENSED HISTORY OF POLICE CAR ENGINES PART TWO This is the second part of our retrospective covering police car engines starting in 1932 when Henry Ford’s first V-8 appeared. We’ve covered other significant engines, too, such as the big- and small-blocks from Ford® and GM and, of course, the Gen I and II HEMI®s from Chrysler. Along the way, we also discussed some of the significant police cars which were powered by these engines. Part two…
Sergeant James Post A CONDENSED HISTORY OF POLICE CAR ENGINES (AND A FEW COOL CRUISERS, TOO) PART ONE We all think of history in different ways. Your high school history teacher probably traced history by the dates of significant events, while architects categorize history with building styles and sports fans track history by the big (or bad) games of their favorite teams. But, automobile fans (car guys/gals) organize their thinking by favorite years, makes and models. However, performance-minded buffs go…
SERGEANT JAMES POST THE 2018 DODGE DURANGO SSV In addition to the pursuit-rated vehicles tested each year by the Michigan State Police (MSP), occasionally, manufacturers will submit prototypes for evaluation and testing. Normally, these results are not published or included in the test results released to Law Enforcement (LE) agencies and the media. This is understandable because these vehicles can rightfully be called “works in progress” and the grueling MSP tests can frequently reveal areas which need more attention. Such…
Sergeant James Post TRANSPORTATION 2018 P&SN presents its 20th annual report on the latest technical advances in police vehicles, components and aftermarket equipment. Welcome to our annual transportation issue where we cover all that’s new for the coming year – vehicles, emergency lighting and other accessories, plus all the results from the Michigan State Police (MSP) annual emergency vehicle tests. So, grab a cup of java, sit back and enjoy. Oh, yeah, don’t forget something to write with so you…