Uniontown replaces 16-year-old police car

Uniontown police department has just purchased a used police car with a $9,999 grant of federal stimulus funds. The new car is a trade-in from the Pullman Police department.

Now patrolling the town streets is a 2005 Ford Crown Victoria with less than 60,000 miles on the odometer. The new car replaces Uniontown’s 16-year-old patrol car which the city will put up for sale, Police Chief David Lehmitz said.

Their new car was purchased for $8,000 out of the grant proceeds.

The rest of the $9,999 grant went to converting the car, which had been stripped of its Pullman police markings and equipment, back to a police car. New police equipment was installed into the vehicle which the Pullman Police Department traded in at Jess Ford. Uniontown bought it from Jess Ford.

A new electronic ticketing system, run via a laptop, has been installed in the car, replacing the town’s outdated method of writing tickets.

“We’ve got a lot of electronics now that weren’t on vehicles back in the early or late 1990s. It’s nice to have an updated car with the updated equipment,” Lehmitz said.

Last week, a private party installed the equipment and put on the markings of a police car.

“When Pullman turns them in, they strip the cars. They don’t turn them in with all the equipment,” Lehmitz said. Emergency lights, striping, marking, radio and other equipment were installed.

Uniontown city council approved the purchase of the vehicle from Jess Ford in early September. The grant is a Community Trade and Economic Development state grant which uses federal stimulus funds.

Uniontown has had the same model police car, a 1993 Ford Crown Victoria, for 14 years.

The veteran car was on duty about 40 hours a week. It was shared by Lehmitz and the other part-time policeman.

Lehmitz told the Uniontown city council about the new car at the city council meeting July 7. They applied for the state grant and received approval in early September.

Most of the police work in Uniontown revolves around Highway 195, which runs through town. Traffic citations and traffic warnings are some of the most common work police done.

The new car hit the streets early this week.