Macon police recive four new police vehicles

New police vehicles are now arriving in Macon after their lease purchase was approved in December.

Macon police said the last new police vehicle purchased was in 2011 and the fleet had not been updated since 2014.

The vehicles exceeded their life expectancy and have been costly to repair. The city was spending thousands of dollars to repair the old cars, officials said.

The repair expenses are expected to be reduced drastically with the purchase of the new vehicles.

Recently, Chief Adam Dawdy went to Mayor Dale Bagley and the city council with concerns about the cost to maintain the aging fleet. Dawdy said, “All of our patrol fleet have experienced costly repairs over the past 2-3 years and need replaced. A large cost savings will be seen right away with new vehicles replacing those with the most costly mechanical issues.” He explains, “one patrol vehicle was taken out of service in October 2017 when front suspension repair costs were estimated to outweigh the value of the car itself. Other patrol vehicles also have repair needs that will drain the budget.”

Council members approved the lease purchase of four new patrol SUVs and they are now arriving.

Officers said they will begin an equipment installation process on the vehicles to provide new emergency lighting.