Circleville Police Get New Set Of Wheels
The Circleville Police department is using a new electric car to aid enforcement of parking laws. Circleville Police Officer Glenn Williams convinced 11 local businesses, plus some local people, to help pay for the $6,300 vehicle. Guy Patrick and Mike Lantis of Coughlin Automotive Group alone contributed $3,300.
Police Chief Harold Gray said the GEM electric vehicle costs only about 18 cents to operate per 10 hours compared to a patrol car that requires 15 gallons of gas per day.
The department painted the car white and blue and equipped a siren and new lights to prepare the vehicle for use. The vehicle will be used by parking-enforcement officer Tonyea Adams, who will be able to cover over three streets a day and widen the scope of her patrol to include Circleville’s outlying retail parking lots.
Gray is uncertain whether this measure would increase revenue from parking citations, and said he mainly wants to clamp down on people illegally parked in handicap spots and blocking fire lanes, as a well as better monitor two-hour parking rules downtown.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Columbus Dispatch (08/13/04) P. 4B; Barker, Alison .