This year, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department evaluated 21 pursuit-rated vehicles — nine sedans, nine motorcycles, and three SUVs — in various categories including acceleration, dynamic handling, braking, and ergonomics.
December 5, 2013
We're living in a Golden Age for police motorcycles. Law enforcement agencies have plenty of quality options, and more cycles may be on the way. We picked three motor officers in Southern California to profile three widely used cycles.
October 15, 2013
The Orange County (Calif.) Sheriff's Department issued 1962 Chrysler Newport sedans that offered deputies a 5.9-liter, V-8 (361 CID) rear-wheel powertrain with push button transmission. The engine was rated at 265 hp.
September 27, 2013
An Oakland Harley-Davidson dealer has begun delivering Harley-Davidson police motorcycles to the California Highway Patrol following a contract with the agency to provide up to 400 new motorcycles.
August 21, 2013
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has completed a nearly $60-million overhaul of its helicopter fleet that brought 18 new Eurocopter helicopters, including three Super Pumas.
March 26, 2013
The Michigan State Police and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department provided Police Magazine with preliminary results from the vehicle tests conducted in September and October of pursuit-rated patrol vehicles for the 2013 model year.
November 1, 2012
Kawasaki Motors Corp. has suspended its Concours 14P police motorcycle program, after determining that dealer modifications were causing a blown main fuse, increasing the risk of a crash.
August 14, 2012
As the new patrol cars become more readily available from the Detroit automakers, many agencies are choosing their new enforcement vehicle. However, for others the decision is on hold. For a variety of reasons they are choosing to stay with the Crown Vic.
July 17, 2012
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department evaluated its largest crop of police motorcycles in the fall, analyzing seven cycles for performance, safety, and comfort.
March 29, 2012
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has released its annual vehicle evaluation, which includes fuel-economy test results as well as acceleration, and braking.
February 22, 2012
To help finance the purchase of new patrol cars, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is considering an out-of-the-box option—selling off its fully equipped higher-mileage cars to smaller departments.
November 30, 2011
To soften the blow to local law enforcement and communities, California politicians are calling one of the largest criminal-justice shifts in state history a "realignment." Sadly, it appears the state's politicians are realigning California toward higher crime, potentially reversing years of declining violent crime.
October 21, 2011
Emergency vehicle operators with the drivers' training divisions of the LASD and LAPD evaluated the Honda ST1300, Kawasaki Concourse 14, BMW R1200 RT-P, Harley-Davidson Electra Glide and Harley-Davidson Road King. The testing regimen includes a 32-lap high-speed course, vehicle dynamics pursuit evaluation, hard-braking test, and ergonomic review.
May 19, 2011
Krava Maga is a hand-to-hand combat system that teaches striking, wrestling, and grappling and it has been adopted by many law enforcement trainers as an effective approach for street fights and jail scuffles. It offers plenty of tools to the smaller deputy or officer who finds herself under attack by a larger suspect.
May 5, 2011
Drivers from the Los Angeles Sheriff's annual vehicle testing provided driving notes, which are concise observations that read like a Zagat restaurant review entry, as one element of their evaluation of the performance and safety features of the 2011 Chevrolet Caprice PPV, 2011 Dodge Charger Pursuit, and 2012 Ford Police Interceptor sedan.
April 25, 2011