Worst Issued Equipment

[kraigwy]

After reading these post, I feel I was on a pretty good department (Anchorage Police Dept.)

When I first hired on I was issued a Model 15, some holster wear but tight. I was told to come back in a couple weeks as they were getting a new shipment of revolvers. I did and traded the 15 for a Model 28. (which I was allowed to keep when I retired, still have it).

Ammo was something else, 158 gr LRN cast and loaded by jail trustees, No thanks, I went home and fired up my reloader and carried 150 gr. LSWCs in 357.

The only complaint I had was when I got into EOD, we had very little equipment.............that is until we got a tech hurt, then "no holds barred" we had an almost unlimted Bomb Squad Budget.

Over all, APD was a first rate department. Not sure now, I've heard some horror stories about how it changed since I retired in '94.

 

[sigp220.45]

1988 Aries K car. Top that.

 

[johnsonl]

My agency ordered hundreds of marked minivans a few years back. If that weren't humiliating enough, the genius who ordered them forgot to have radios installed. They were delivered to offices nationwide and we were told to install radios out of our own budgets. Needless to say, the vans saw very little use.

 

[S. Hammer]

1988 Aries K car. Top that.

1985 six cylinder Ford Fairmont.

 

[Marshwheeling]

1988 Aries K car. Top that.

Good enough for thousands of Southeast Asian immigrants.

 

[PALADIN85020]

I think policy as well as weapons could be upgraded. I remember distinctly having weapons issued to guards in the Army, but no ammo was allowed - and no bayonets, either. What was a guard supposed to do, yell "Stop, or I'll yell 'stop' again!"?

John

 

[BaldEagle1313]

1985 six cylinder Ford Fairmont.

Sorry, but I think the K car wins the "worst" argument. Trust me, I was the king of "drove a crappy car" when a teenager. Dad's Lincoln was off-limits to us kids, so I learned to drive in mom's Edsel. By the time I could take the driver's test she had a new Pinto (easier to parallel park than the Edsel) and the first car I bought? Dad wasn't working at the Ford dealer anymore so I bought... a Vega. When the engine exploded I dropped in a V-8. It was a fun car after that! Got 5 tickets in 30 months... goodbye, car.

 

[cubfarm1]

I remember that leconner Washington had a "le-car'ie,renualt for a police car in the early 80's!

 

[xray97]

1985 six cylinder Ford Fairmont.

I'll see your Fairmont and raise you one. While everyone else in the Major Crimes Unit in the mid eighties were driving Fairmonts my assigned vehicle (I was the new guy) was an ORANGE Plymouth Horizon. Not a seizure vehicle mind you, some administrator actually ordered it for the unit. Manual transmission, no siren, and a magnetic based, cigarette lighter plug- in "Kojak Light". Kinda adds insult to injury when you're transported to jail in something like that after being popped!
A Fairmont seemed real nice after that!

 

[S. Hammer]

I'll see your Fairmont and raise you one. While everyone else in the Major Crimes Unit in the mid eighties were driving Fairmonts my assigned vehicle (I was the new guy) was an ORANGE Plymouth Horizon. Not a seizure vehicle mind you, some administrator actually ordered it for the unit. Manual transmission, no siren, and a magnetic based, cigarette lighter plug- in "Kojak Light". Kinda adds insult to injury when you're transported to jail in something like that after being popped!
A Fairmont seemed real nice after that!

Now you're gonna make me have to break out the big guns....
When I was interning at a small dept. in Central Florida back in 1979 the city bought 4 cylinder Chevettes for the detectives and, even better, the plain clothes tactical unit. This was during the gas crisis (anyone remember gas lines going around the block?) I was riding with an officer one night when a patrol guy interrupted a burglary in progress, ended up fighting and shooting at the suspect who fled (there was a time when you could shoot at fleeing felons down here). I had to hold the blue tear drop light as the dash wasn't big enough to set it on. The Chevettes had old mechanical sirens installed that were originally on motorcycles. The patrol units driving Malibu's blew us off the road going to that one. That department also tried Fairmonts one year. The chief was driving his down one of the main roads when his driver's door literally fell off. He was not a happy man as he pulled into the PD holding the door against the car frame with his left arm as he drove. That was the last year for Fords at that agency for many years.

 

[amazingflapjack]

Worst issued "vehicle" was while with the splendid postal service. I was working for them in S. Cal, and they had these 3 wheeled death traps made by Cusshman that had a glorified cardboard "body" around them. If anything larger than a humming bird hit you, you were toast. You had to dart in and out at every house, carrying the mail that was on a shelf in the thing up to the door, then back, and through the opening to sit down on--- the motor! It brought a whole new meaning to "Broiled flank steaks." And the noise.. you could put someone in one of those things for a couple of hours, and they'd tell you anything you wanted to know. Six hours in and out of one of those things on a summer day in Southern California was the worst. Surprising where the work ethic will take you when you are young...and not so young. Flapjack.

 

[Kavinsky]

Doesn't surprise me at all. An Ofc I did a ride along with, said they loved the speed of the chargers, but it was killing their maint. budget because the front ends would wear out so much quicker than the Crown Vics, so they were going back to them.

damn it, the consumer reports thing shows that the normal version is one of the few good Dodges they make nowadays

so I guess from the sound of that it would be better and cheaper to go with an original one from 72 - 75 with a 318, added all around disc brakes and an upgraded hotchiks suspension for use as a cop car instead of a modern one.

Damning thing is with all of the electronic stuff it would probably last longer and be cheaper to maintain. although the one thing you'd have to worry about is the gas but the 318's with 3:15 gears did produce decient gas mileage back then, hell in that case a duster would probably be a better alternative

actually what about the old 74' monacos like the ones the blues brothers drove? were they any good?