Police cars seen in a new light: With sunroofs

Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2005 | 8:29 a.m.

Henderson's police chief and top administrators will be riding around in a little more style than your typical squad car.

The Henderson City Council is scheduled to approve tonight the $2.3 million purchase of 93 vehicles for its officers, investigators and police administrators.

While it is common for the city to replace an aging fleet, four of the 93 vehicles will have some added, costlier features.

The four Chevrolet Impalas for two deputy chiefs and two captains who are allowed to take the cars home will include sunroofs with built-in transmitters to open garage doors. The unmarked cars also will have bucket seats with a center console and a spoiler.

Police Chief Alan Kerstein, who has been on the job since August, received a similar Impala with a sunroof last week.

Like his top aides' cars, Kerstein's Impala LT model also will have a more powerful engine than the Impala LS model that detectives are getting. His car has a 3.9-liter V6 engine compared to a 3.5-liter V6 engine in detectives' cars.

The upgraded models, which cost $19,087 per Impala LT, are priced nearly $3,600 more per car than what the city is paying for detectives' vehicles. (That still is about $9,000 less, though, than the amount that the chief could have spent on his official vehicle.)

Kerstein, who was in Mesquite for a law enforcement conference, was not available for comment Monday.

Henderson Police spokesman Keith Paul said Kerstein opted for upgraded Impalas for himself and his administrators because the cars will have higher resale value when the city auctions them after their extended use.

By going with the LT model, the city will get back the extra money it spends plus some additional revenue, said Ziggy Terelak, the fleet manager for Champion Chevrolet in Reno, the company that will supply the cars through a state purchasing agreement. Terelak noted, however, that no other police agencies in Nevada have asked for sunroof-equipped cars.

Ron Dreher, the government affairs director of the Nevada Peace Officers Research Association, said he has never heard of a police department having cars with sunroofs. There also would be no reason for the chief and his administrators to have cars with bucket seats, spoilers and more powerful engines, he added.

"It makes no sense to me other than it's about the resale," Dreher said. "I can't even guess anything else other than prestige about wanting to show off that I am the chief."

Dreher said while $3,600 extra per car is not a lot of money to spend on five cars, it nonetheless is money that otherwise could be spent on items such as bullet-proof vests or other safety equipment.

If the city's rationale for purchasing the cars is the higher resale value, then the department also should have bought detectives cars with sunroofs, he said.

Paul pointed out that purchasing plans in place before Kerstein arrived called for him getting a $28,000 Chevrolet Tahoe like the ones used in patrol, but he opted for a car costing nearly $9,000 less.

The Impalas also are less expensive than the $21,500 Crown Victorias driven by Deputy Chief James White and two captains, Paul said.

Even so, council members have mixed reactions to the purchase plan.

Henderson Councilman Jack Clark, who has spent his career in law enforcement, said getting cars with the added features, including a sunroof, makes financial sense for the city because of their resale value.

"It has been my experience when you go sell those old Crown Victorias, they are worth nothing," Clark said. "When you crunch the numbers backward, it makes sense. We are going to get our money back. I don't think you will see the chief riding around with his sunroof open."

Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers, though, said she does not regard the higher resale value as justification to purchase what she called the "bling-bling package" on the Impalas.

"I think it sets a bad precedent to the public," Cyphers said.

"The public is now paying a quarter-cent more in sales tax for more police, and police administrators will be driving cars with sunroofs and spoilers. We have to be very careful on how we spend the public dollar."

White and a third deputy chief to start early next year also will get one of the new Impalas, Paul said. Deputy Chief Richard Perkins uses his own truck rather than drive a city vehicle, he said.

Brian Wargo can be reached at 259-4011 or at wargo@lasvegassun.com.