At the Shreveport City Council Public Safety Committee meeting on Tuesday, Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith gave an update on the vehicles owned by the Shreveport police department (SPD).
Here is summary of these comments:
a. SPD has approximately 400 items of rolling equipment which include SUVs, pickup trucks, boats, motorcycles, and police cars.
b. SPD has 50 unmarked patrol cars
c. Last year 25 SPD vehicles were totaled in collisions
d. This year 30 new cars have been purchased and were shipped in March. These are being upfitted by SPD and 18 have been put into service
e. 2 Tahoes have been purchased for the K-9 Division which was 3 cars down
f. 60 more police cars have been purchased with anticipated delivery dates of 90-120 days
g. 41 of the new 60 cars to be delivered will be assigned to take home officers
h. 232 vehicles are used for patrol and on an average day 50 of these are redlined for needed maintenance
i. Committee chair Grayson Boucher hopes that the city can add an additional 30 police cars by year end, depending on financing arrangements.
j. Boucher expressed a preference for future vehicle purchases to be Tahoes rather than Expeditions, despite the additional costs.
The request for additional police equipment and vehicles to be purchased by the Caddo Commission has been forwarded to Commission officials
John came to Shreveport in January of 1977 when he was transferred to Barksdale AFB.
He’s been active in Shreveport politics since deciding to make Shreveport his home.
John practiced law for 40 years and he now monitors local politics. He regularly attends Shreveport City Council and Caddo Parish Commission meetings.
John is published weekly in The Inquisitor, bi-monthly in The Forum News, and frequently in the Shreveport Times.
He enjoys addressing civic groups on local government issues and elections.