First All Electric Fleet in The Nation | South Pasadena Police Department’s TESLAs

South Pasadena Police Department Becomes First in the Nation to Convert Entire Fleet to Electric Vehicles, despite struggling with finance issues and a nearly $2 Million Price Tag for the small city.

PHOTO: TESLA - Tina Kistinger | The South Pasadenan News | Newly delivered Tesla Model 3's at the South Pasadena Police Station. The next steps include converting the vehicles into fully operational police units, and installing the charging stations.
PHOTO: Tina Kistinger | The South Pasadenan News | Newly delivered Tesla Model 3's at the South Pasadena Police Station. The next steps include converting the vehicles into fully operational police units, and installing the charging stations.

The South Pasadena Police Department will become the first law enforcement agency in the United States to convert its entire police fleet to electric vehicles. The transition is made possible by nearly $500,000 in “clean transportation funding” from the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC), along with “significant” investments by Southern California Edison’s Charge Ready program and the South Pasadena City Council.

South Pasadena has initiated the transition by purchasing 10 Tesla Model Y patrol vehicles. To support the new electric fleet, the city will also install nine police-dedicated Level II electric vehicle chargers and one Level III electric vehicle charger.

South Pasadena Councilmember Michael Cacciotti explained that the project aligns with the city’s Climate Action Plan and showcases a commitment to state-of-the-art public safety vehicle technology. “We will be putting our officers in the safest and most effective police vehicles on the market,” Cacciotti said. “In addition to that, we will be investing in technology that will help reduce harmful vehicle emissions to improve air quality for all our residents.”

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Cacciotti emphasized the project’s potential to serve as a model for other jurisdictions, demonstrating how a 21st-century police force can save resources and improve air quality simultaneously.

PHOTO: TESLA - Tina Kistinger | The South Pasadenan News | Newly delivered Tesla Model 3's near the South Pasadena Police Station. The next steps include converting the vehicles into fully operational police units, and installing the charging stations.
PHOTO: Tina Kistinger | The South Pasadenan News | Newly delivered Tesla Model 3’s near the South Pasadena Police Station. The next steps include converting the vehicles into fully operational police units, and installing the charging stations.

The South Pasadena City Council voted in September 2022 to make the switch, as the current public safety vehicle fleet had reached the end of its useful service life. The city has since partnered with the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee and Southern California Edison to make this groundbreaking transition a reality.

 


 

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