Greetings from Central Mass

[Sarge619]

Greetings to all from Central Mass! I'm a 28 year career police officer (Sergeant) from a small-town PD (about 5000 residents, 10 full-time officers). I've always been a police vehicle enthusiast, and owned 6 over the years (though none now). I have an affinity for vintage police equipment, especially Whelen and Federal Signal emergency lights. My favorite all-time light is the Federal Signal CJ184/CJ284, remember them fondly spinning away on the roofs of mid-seventies MSP and local cruisers.


My current "official" ride is a 2010 Dodge Charger Hemi with Whelen Liberty LED lighbar and various Whelen deck, pushbar and mirror-mounted LED lights. My first cruiser in this department when I came on board was an '81 Ford LTD "S" with a crossbar sporting blue Whelen 1200's strobes on either end and a Dietz 211 "Hill Light" rotating beacon in the center with a clear lens and blue and white bulbs. Let's just say we've come a LONG way since I joined the force.


I've been lucky to have been allowed to design the various graphics packages our PD has used since 1986 including our current scheme which was adopted in 2007 when we changed cruiser colors and switched to Chargers.


I just bought my first vintage light (a CJ184, of course) for my collection and someday hope to mount it on a restored cruiser (preferably a 72 Ford Custom or 77 Plymouth Gran Fury in MSP colors) provided I ever hit the lottery so I can afford to buy and restore one!


I look forward to meeting and corresponding with the members of the board.

 

[HFD eng1ine]

'welcome! Im from your area somewhat!

 

[Sarge619]

'welcome! Im from your area somewhat!

Well, we ARE in the same state! LOL

 

[emtanderson51]

Well, we ARE in the same state! LOL

Hey man, welcome aboard! I'm in Marlboro and lived/worked in Oxford, MA as well as AMR in 8 different stations around the state. Nice to see the local yocalls on the site!

 

[Sarge619]

Hey man, welcome aboard! I'm in Marlboro and lived/worked in Oxford, MA as well as AMR in 8 different stations around the state. Nice to see the local yocalls on the site!

Thanks for the welcome! I work in Bolton (see avatar), so not too far from you in the 'boro.

 

[SafetyLighting]

Welcome to ELB Sarge. I have a 2011 Charger Pursuit in my shop right now.

 

[emtanderson51]

Thanks for the welcome! I work in Bolton (see avatar), so not too far from you in the 'boro.

I used to date a girl from Stow and know the "Bolton Flats" well. I also work with a girl who's on Bolton EMS over at Marlboro/Hudson Ambulance.....small world lol

 

[Tom]

Welcome to ELB! I'm from the Taunton area if you're anywhere near that

 

[Mrlunchbox]

Welcome to ELB! This site is a great resource.

 

[Sarge619]

Welcome to ELB Sarge. I have a 2011 Charger Pursuit in my shop right now.

They certainly look alot meaner than the '06-'10's.... I just hope they made some serious efforts to correct some of the problems with them (including the poor visibility trying to see out of the car, especially to the rear). They're fast and handle great, but I'm not a huge fan. We're an all Charger department (except for one Ford Expedition), and they have turned out to have considerable reliability problems, electrical problems, visibility problems, lack of trunk space for equipment, etc. and for a guy who's just under 6'6", not all too comfortable to spend 8 hours in.


IMHO, Dodge could've done a much better job designing the car - but that's the problem.. it wasn't originally designed with being a police vehicle in mind... it was designed to be a "cool" civilian sedan with hints of retro styling from the Chargers back in the late 60's. It's that styling that compromises the visibility (sloped backlight, gunslit windows, etc.).


Hands down I give it the best rating for speed and handling of any cruiser I've driven in my career (even surpassed our 9C1 Caprices with the LT1 motor), but you won't hear alot more positive things about them from me, and I've been driving them since '07. Just my $.02. I have it on good authority the MSP is not buying any more after the experiences they've had with their Chargers. They're going with the all new FWD/AWD V6 "2nd Generation" Ford Police Interceptor (based on the Taurus platform).


Me? I'm itchin' to drive the new Caprice PPV. A friend of mine (an officer in another PD) drove one last week, says it blows the Charger away in acceleration, top end, handling, visibility, interior and trunk room, etc. And, it DID win out over the 2011 Charger at the Michigan State Police Vehicle Evaluations last fall.


OK, I'll get off my soapbox now .... and thanks for the friendly greeting!

 

[Sarge619]

I used to date a girl from Stow and know the "Bolton Flats" well. I also work with a girl who's on Bolton EMS over at Marlboro/Hudson Ambulance.....small world lol

It's quite possible I know her, or certainly have seen her on EMS calls (if she's been on the squad longer than two years, that is... I've been IOD since December of '09 after a bad fall resulting in several surgeries to my foot. Hopefully I'll be "back in the saddle" before too long).


Once upon a time, I dated a girl who was on the AMR crew assigned to Hudson.... but that was LONG ago!!

 

[Sarge619]

Welcome to ELB! I'm from the Taunton area if you're anywhere near that

Thanks for the welcome Tom! Taunton is somewhat of a hike from where I am, but not too far.

 

[Sarge619]

Welcome to ELB! This site is a great resource.

Thanks Mrlunchbox! From what I've seen so far it's a wealth of info, and the locals are friendly too!

 

[SafetyLighting]

They certainly look alot meaner than the '06-'10's.... I just hope they made some serious efforts to correct some of the problems with them (including the poor visibility trying to see out of the car, especially to the rear). They're fast and handle great, but I'm not a huge fan. We're an all Charger department (except for one Ford Expedition), and they have turned out to have considerable reliability problems, electrical problems, visibility problems, lack of trunk space for equipment, etc. and for a guy who's just under 6'6", not all too comfortable to spend 8 hours in.

IMHO, Dodge could've done a much better job designing the car - but that's the problem.. it wasn't originally designed with being a police vehicle in mind... it was designed to be a "cool" civilian sedan with hints of retro styling from the Chargers back in the late 60's. It's that styling that compromises the visibility (sloped backlight, gunslit windows, etc.).


Hands down I give it the best rating for speed and handling of any cruiser I've driven in my career (even surpassed our 9C1 Caprices with the LT1 motor), but you won't hear alot more positive things about them from me, and I've been driving them since '07. Just my $.02. I have it on good authority the MSP is not buying any more after the experiences they've had with their Chargers. They're going with the all new FWD/AWD V6 "2nd Generation" Ford Police Interceptor (based on the Taurus platform).


Me? I'm itchin' to drive the new Caprice PPV. A friend of mine (an officer in another PD) drove one last week, says it blows the Charger away in acceleration, top end, handling, visibility, interior and trunk room, etc. And, it DID win out over the 2011 Charger at the Michigan State Police Vehicle Evaluations last fall.


OK, I'll get off my soapbox now .... and thanks for the friendly greeting!

Yes there have been many problems that have turned up over the years with the Chargers, but as you know, nothing is ever perfect, LOL. I just bought my second charger, a 2010 leftover with the Street Appearance Package and Hemi. While the charger did leave much to be desired, it is always very predictable and amazing in the snow.


As for the 2011, several improvements were made including increasing the outward visibility. I cannot believe all the features that came through on it. Dual zone automatic climate control, auto up and down windows, tons of interior lighting(which can be defeated of course, but it's nice that it's there). I found something the other day that I hadn't heard being included in the production model: Laminated side windows! Overall I'm very impressed with it.


The cruiser will be done in the next week or so and I'll post plenty of pics on my website.

 

[Sarge619]

Yes there have been many problems that have turned up over the years with the Chargers, but as you know, nothing is ever perfect, LOL. I just bought my second charger, a 2010 leftover with the Street Appearance Package and Hemi. While the charger did leave much to be desired, it is always very predictable and amazing in the snow.

As for the 2011, several improvements were made including increasing the outward visibility. I cannot believe all the features that came through on it. Dual zone automatic climate control, auto up and down windows, tons of interior lighting(which can be defeated of course, but it's nice that it's there). I found something the other day that I hadn't heard being included in the production model: Laminated side windows! Overall I'm very impressed with it.


The cruiser will be done in the next week or so and I'll post plenty of pics on my website.

Can't wait to see the pics.


It's is encouraging to hear they've made improvements - especially in the area of visibility. Means they may just actually be listening to those of us pushing their product to it's limits out there in the real world.


And I will agree wholeheartedly with you about driving in the snow.... they go better, further and much more confidently in the snow than our '92 - '05 Ford Police Interceptors ever did. I've driven in many a storm and blizzard on crappy, hilly backroads over the course of my career, and if you didn't put chains on the Ford for responding to calls once several inches were on the ground, you might not get there at all. We have yet to have to put chains on our Chargers, even with five or more standing inches on the ground. Once it gets worse than that, our SOP is to saddle up the Expedition 4x4 and use that for responses.


We were supposed to get an '11 Charger, but b/c of town-wide department budget cuts, I believe the purchase got axed. It'll be interesting to see what we buy if we get funding next year with this whole new crop of "next generation" police cars available from the "Big Three" (GM, Ford and Chrysler). My God, just like the good 'ol days when I first got into law enforcement!! It's nice to have multiple choices again. And to be fair, no matter who manufactures it, there will be problems that eventually need ironing out!

 

[wkr518]

Welcome Board Sarge!

 

[jestertc]

welcome.....

 

[Sarge619]

Thanks wkr518 and jestertc! I'm really enjoying the sight so far!


Tons of informative stuff on current and vintage lighting and alot of knowledgable folks on here. Like I mentioned, I just purchased my first vintage light (Many thanks to Sirenman, can't wait it gets here to MA), a CJ184 w/blue dome. I also forgot to mention in my original post that my uncle Richard is the owner and producer of Roto-Rays (I know, some love 'em, some hate 'em... Me? Of course I'm biased... I LOVE 'em!! And not just because my uncle makes them.... ) so my interest for emergency lighting goes WAY back.