Sac SO - new patrol car look

[RolnCode3]

Just in case anyone is interested, I came across a build-up in progress. These are cell-phone pics, so don't run out and have them blown up to 11X17 and frame 'em! I don't personally like the new lightbars, but whatever. In case you can't tell, they're oval shaped, and I believe LED. If I can find a link to a sales page for the model I'll post it. The look ain't bad, but the all-white has always been good in my book. Without further ado (and hoping I'm not stealing some PIOs thunder):

 

[RolnCode3]

Here's a (crappy) shot of the interior. As you can see, it has the expensive Code3 brand control head (the thin one, not a big box). Nice lookin' setup.

 

[pfish]

Those look pretty nice. I would of opted for the clear & slim LED bars, but oh well...still no spotlights..

 

[RolnCode3]

Some of the in-service cars have spotlights, most don't. I think they come from the factory installed, so I'm guessing none of these cars will carry spots.

To my knowledge, none of the "new look" cars are on the streets. Hoping this isn't a McGinness idea, that's not supposed to be out there yet...

 

[pfish]

Some of the in-service cars have spotlights, most don't. I think they come from the factory installed, so I'm guessing none of these cars will carry spots.

Yup, which surprises me. I've seen only a small percentage with spotlights, which is amazing because (imho) they are utilized often in cars that have them installed. They're a great help at night, either for "spotting" vehicles to let them know you just saw what was going on, or clearing the crowd out downtown. Not to mention searching for suspects/accidents.

 

[servo_fan]

Elk Grove PD cars are all white, but I just came across this picture of an EGPD K9, so I wonder if all the EG cars are going to be black as well. Looks like the light bar is like the SSD one Roln posted. And it looks like there are spotlights as well.

 

[Kirk]

Over the last decade I've seen several agencies go from multi-colored unique paint/logo schemes to black and white. I don't know what prompted the shift.

In the fire service, there was a shift towards green fire engines for a while, after a study at SFO which showed they were more visible than red. One local city here that had green engines recently switched to red, and rather than just buying red engines as they retired old stock, they actually spent money to paint existing rolling stock red.

Your tax dollars at work.

 

[servo_fan]

Over the last decade I've seen several agencies go from multi-colored unique paint/logo schemes to black and white

It's kind of funny because in this case, the Sacramento Sheriffs Dept is going to multi-color. Their cars are currently all white. Sac PD is black and white, maybe they got envious.

In the fire service, there was a shift towards green fire engines for a while

Most, if not all, of the Sac City Fire equipment is green. Most of Sac Metro Fire's are red, but there are a number of white ones as well, (back from when there were many fire districts in the county). Quite the melting pot of public safety vehicles here.

 

[califzeph]

Remember when the SO cars were green and white? I thought they looked much better then the all white ones.
And they used to wear green uniforms too.

 

[kma371]

Elk Grove PD cars are all white, but I just came across this picture of an EGPD K9, so I wonder if all the EG cars are going to be black as well. Looks like the light bar is like the SSD one Roln posted. And it looks like there are spotlights as well.

I've seen a slick top car driving around town painted just like the one you posted that wasn't a K9 car, so I'm going to guess and say they switching all of their vehicles. It will be a nice change because the cars they have now look lame.

 

[RolnCode3]

Remember when the SO cars were green and white? I thought they looked much better then the all white ones.
And they used to wear green uniforms too.

Funny you should mention the uniforms. There's a rumor (unverified), that the SO is considering/planning on going back to green, but with tan shirts. Possibly a McGinness idea, but haven't heard anything definitive. Unkn timeframe.

 

[Sac916]

McGinness is all about change.

The green/brown uniform has been thrown around recently.
It's also been proposed that the squads go to black and white.

The "rumor" has been, that McGinness favors the green/brown uniform because it's more traditional. Look at the majority of Sheriff agencies in CA and you'll see that color scheme. It's also cheaper to buy those colors. Not much, but a tiny bit. Personally, I love the black and hope it goes to a vote.

About the squads, the "rumor" is that it's cheaper to buy black/whites. Personally, I prefer the white. Sheesh - even go with another solid, like dark blue.

 

[Sac916]

Elk Grove PD cars are all white, but I just came across this picture of an EGPD K9, so I wonder if all the EG cars are going to be black as well. Looks like the light bar is like the SSD one Roln posted. And it looks like there are spotlights as well.

Elk Grove has a whole fleet of new cars waiting to be deployed Aug 28th. They are currently using "old" squads that are equipped with SSD MDTs and radios since SSD still dispatches for them.

The K9 car in the picture is a new car obviously, but the Elk Grove K9s DO NOT have SSD MDTs so they are on voice dispatch only.

When Elk Grove rolls out Aug 28th, they'll have all new squads with MDTs hooked up to their own CAD system.

 

[RolnCode3]

The K9 car in the picture is a new car obviously, but the Elk Grove K9s DO NOT have SSD MDTs so they are on voice dispatch only.

When Elk Grove rolls out Aug 28th, they'll have all new squads with MDTs hooked up to their own CAD system.

I suspected they were waiting for the switch to install their own MDTs in the EGPD K9 cars (it sounded like they were on voice dispatch).

I also think you guys look good in the black. I hope you stay with it as well. We wear green and tan, and unless the list of approved uniform pieces is very short, there's always the problem with matching colors. Far as I can tell, there's really only 1 black (although with fading that slowly changes)...but there's a billion shades of green.

As for the cars, the all-white was good in my book...the car in the pics looked alright...I think the lightbar looks goofy though. The MX7000s are excellent light bars, I dunno why they'd move away from them. Some cars even have the new LED version of the 7000, and those look great.

 

[sacscan]

Remember when the SO cars were green and white? I thought they looked much better then the all white ones.
And they used to wear green uniforms too.

Got any pictures? I wasn't in Sac back then and would love to see some old SSD cars.

 

[Railpatch]

The lightbar pictured is a Federal Arjent LED. We're switching to those for our marked units that aren't slicktop. I should be getting one in the next week or two.

 

[SKiPDoG]

I've always liked the Unitrol TM4 siren/lightbar controls. Why the switch to the Code 3 units?

 

[RolnCode3]

The lightbar pictured is a Federal Arjent LED. We're switching to those for our marked units that aren't slicktop. I should be getting one in the next week or two.

Thanks for the info. I won't bother posting a link. A Google will bring up a whole bunch of links. Looks like they're the "S2" version of that lightbar.

Dunno why they're switching from the Unitrol. They seem pretty reliable to me...never heard of any problems that weren't due to long service lives (10+ years). Maybe they just want to spend more money? Some of those Code3 units are over 800 bucks depending on where you buy them.

 

[sacscan]

To my knowledge, none of the "new look" cars are on the streets. Hoping this isn't a McGinness idea, that's not supposed to be out there yet...

They're on the streets now. Saw one last night going northbound Stockton Blvd. passing Orange Ave., then another one (or the same one) going northbound 44th street approaching Lemon Hill.

 

[Kirk]

Unitrol's rock. They're the most straightforward siren/light controller designs, making operation while driving Code 3 a piece of cake. When I see vehicles with huge rows of toggle switches (common in some ambulances), I cringe.

Plus, at least with the older Unitrols, you can hook up two siren amps to one controller, so you can wail and yelp at the same time, or keep wailing while you're using the electronic air horn (which, unlike a Wheelen, doesn't sound like a duck farting, it actually sounds like an air horn).

Ok, I'm done reminiscing now. As you were.