The Los Angeles Police Department is poised Monday to become one of the first departments in the country to use the new Ford Fusion hybrid pursuit-rated police car.
Chief Charlie Beck is scheduled at 10 a.m. to take the wraps off of two of the new Police Responders built for patrol work with a 2.0-liter, four- cylinder gas engine and electric motor powered by a 1.4 kilowatt lithium ion battery. The vehicle can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds while getting 38 miles to a gallon of gasoline, according to gadgetgestures.com.
Two of the new Ford sedans sat under covers outside LAPD headquarters early Monday morning awaiting the announcement.
LAPD officials have not said how many of the vehicles the department will purchase and when they will go into service. But the LAPD is committed to purchasing 300 hybrid and hybrid-electric plug-in vehicles by 2020.
