August 31, 2021 |
In Saratoga, a new police cruiser is on the streets. The police department is using for routing patrols, looking for speeders and other traffic violations in the town. The Ford Interceptor SUV, which town council gave emergency approval for the police department to purchase at its August 3rd meeting, has been delivered and put into service. The $22,000 vehicle is equipped for a K-9 officer. Sergeant Justin Brown told the governing body at its last meeting that the vehicle fits the bill.
Pictured above: File photo of Saratoga Town Hall/Police Department. Photo by Cali O’Hare/Bigfoot 99.
The Interceptor replaces an older department vehicle that had a makeshift kennel in the back for Sergeant Brown’s K-9 partners. The new vehicle has safety features for the dogs, including temperature controls and remote alarms to alert Brown if the interior gets too hot. It also equipped with a door popper. Like a quick-release garage door opener, the remote control device allows an officer carries to pop open the door of the cruiser from a distance, allowing his K-9 partner to leap into action. Brown’s two K-9 partners are dual-duty dogs. They can sniff out drugs and they can take down bad guys. Brown reiterated that drugs continue to pose a problem in the community.
Officers have reported at multiple town council meetings that hard drugs have found their way into the town, including heroin and highly-deadly fentanyl. Multiple arrests have been made at the hot pools, which has been the scene of overdoses, heart attacks and vandalism over the last year. Councilman Ben Spaulding, who joined the meeting by phone, praised the shorthanded Saratoga Police Department for its efforts to crack down on hard drug use in the town this summer. Spaulding asked residents to do their part to help the police.
Sergeant Brown referred to Saratoga’s popular hot pools as fish tank to catch drug users and others breaking the law.
Related: Saratoga Town Council approves purchase of new police SUV
Related: Saratoga PD looking to hire three new officers to help with busy workload
