Connecticut State Police 2013 Ford Interceptor Sedan
- Thread starter firedude
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pdk9
Member
It's such a waste having both interior headliner & exterior bars! CSP has beautiful cars but these needs grill lights, & the rear deck should be an amber inner edge TA. I could also see the B-post/partition light being more effective on the sides of the PB. However, nice to see the V-series in use.
NFD-102
Member
pdk9 said:
The reason behind both is because they are take home vehicles. So when your off duty, you remove the bar. They are on 24/7 for the big one. In the past all they had for responding without the bar was wigwags. The new chargers have grill lights but they are also all blacked out so everything is hidden.
I saw the rear deck on one the other day and it sucks, they aren't synced up at all and it looks like crap. The charger has an inner edge.
The new fords also have cruse lights on their rear deck as well as their light bar and inner edge. I saw this set up last night in New Haven.
The whole vehicle is synced as it's a cantrol. There are not lights on the push bars because CSP actually uses them, the old cvpi had pro guard bumpers that were constantly being bent and subsequently replaced so they don't want anything on the bars. This time they went with a sentina bar which is a lot stronger so hopefully won't need to be replaced as often. As stated the car was built to be effective with and without the light bar. This is for multiple reasons, first the troopers are no longer aloud to add equipment to their car. I'm sure you imagine the electrical problems that arise when people who don't know how to wire try to. Also there was no unity to csp cars and some were so over lit they were dangerous. Secondly they do take their bars off while off duty (takes about 2 minutes) and some run slick top on duty aswell.
lafd55
Member
Yea, the inner-edge is pretty stupid with a lightbar. But then again when he is rolling off-duty and makes a stop he doesn't really have time to stop, install the lightbar, and then chase down the guy, lol.
NFD-102
Member
The original specs called for split red/blue ions behind the grille, and white ions on the push bar to serve as wig-wags. Did they abandon both of those or is this vehicle not completely outfitted?
Just talked to my buddy who is in the academy today and got an update. Apparently when the driver side door is opened the driver side lights turn off so that the trooper doesn't have his view obstructed (not sure if this is the entire driver side or just the interior bar and/exterior bar). Also at nighttime the lights inside are dimmer so that it doesn't effect the troopers view with flashback. That was all I was able to find out about the vehicle at this time.
emtanderson51
Member
I have to ask...why bother with the lightbar at all? Why not use that money for extra interior lighting if they're take home vehicles and save the cost/effort of removing a lightbar continually. What speed are the quick detach mounts rated at?
MESDA6
Member
5309
Member
So when it snows and the light bar ices onto the roof do they chisel. It off? Is that there policy to remove the bar?
pdk9
Member
NFD-102 said:
Wow, I wonder what genius came up with that idea?...clearly some admin that lacks road time! Thanks for the explanation, though.
What about decals/striping....do they remove the striping & decals everytime they go off shift?...jk lol
Dear CSP admin,
A) dumb idea
B) have you considered the potential increased cost of damage by removing the lightbars regularly (& possibly dropping them)
C) whether they're RESPONDING from home or while on duty, they should have the same level of warning
D) news flash! most people will recognize that as a PD vehicle with/without the lightbar. "Setina" is French for "I am a police car, b#@tches!"
TritonBoulder47
Member
pdk9 said:
The light bar is their only identification as a state trooper. The center of the bar says STATE POLICE on the front and back and lights up with the cruise lights. As far as I know they don't respond to calls off duty unless needed so there is no problem with them removing the bar.
NFD-102
Member
I saw one of these lit up the other day. Everything is on steady burn at night time when they are on scene. Full lightbar, two lightheads on the inner edge and then every other lighthead. It looked nice and wasn't blinding.
Troop
Member
Police cars with roof-mounted lightbars but without decals look weird to me. POV firefighter vehicles are one thing, but in my opinion if you're going to have a full lightbar on top of a police car you also need markings.
When I learned that's how CSP does it I thought that was so weird, and I still do. Detachable lightbars? I just don't get it.
I have a take-home car, too, and although I'm only allowed to drive it for work-related functions I can't see the desire to have the option of taking it off.
Anyway, I do think the cars look nice and the lights they have are great, but the way they outfit them just doesn't make sense!
When I learned that's how CSP does it I thought that was so weird, and I still do. Detachable lightbars? I just don't get it.
I have a take-home car, too, and although I'm only allowed to drive it for work-related functions I can't see the desire to have the option of taking it off.
Anyway, I do think the cars look nice and the lights they have are great, but the way they outfit them just doesn't make sense!
Troop said:
I actually had the opportunity to talk to the trooper and in the future they are looking to actually just go slick top and do away with the light bar in general but for now they are continuing the use of the light bars.
As far as the decals it is cost effective for them not to apply them just in case they were to get damages they wouldn't have to replace and also when a vehicle is crashed the use the damaged vehicle for spare parts that still can be salvaged.
Thought it was pretty cool. These cars also apparently have sensors on them that know when the car is parked or driving when it is day or night and adjust the lighting brightness according to this. Also when the trooper opens the driver side door it kills the driver side lights for a specific period of time so the trooper can get to the passenger side of the vehicle without being blinded.
MHQ in Middletown, CT is the outfitter for the state police vehicles also. They did an awesome job on the install IMO. Everything is done using whelen lights and whelen cencom.
pdk9
Member
CTKB said:
That is weird that they're considering going ALL slicktop.
As far as the reason for not adding striping or decals to the vehicles, the rationale is illogical! Unless they plan on every cruiser crashing multiple times each year (in which case they have a lot more to worry about), there's no reason for them to not have, at the minimum, a basic decal package that clearly identifies them as state police. The decals aren't expensive, they can be reflective (added visibility), & they are not hard to remove if they need to reuse a part (even though replacing an identical part on a different vehicle would likely mean that the graphics on the spare part should naturally match up on the newer vehicle).
The reason they don't want their cruisers plastered with graphics is because as part of their collective bargaining agreement, Connecticut State Troopers are permitted to use their cruisers off duty as if it were their personal vehicle. They can use it off duty anywhere in Connecticut, and a certain distance out of state. Most of the Troopers don't want a cruiser with markings and a light bar when running errands and bringing their kids to school, but like the extra warning power of a full light bar when on duty, hence the quick disconnect.
NFD-102
Member
I understand all your complaints about graphics and exterior lightbars but I love the CT State Police cars. I think that they have always looked slick. If your look at the number of times they have been hit to other states its really not that high. So there isn't a need for all the other things.
Troop
Member
Thanks for the added information.
Although I do love unmarked police cars, it's nice to have marked cars also so that the public can see police presence in the area.
Being able to drive the police car off-duty sounds great in theory, but there's a lot of things people have to think about such as if they're off duty and something happens are they required to assist? What if their family is in the car? Criminals know what police cars look like - marked or not. I don't know that I'd want to have my family in the car, you never know who is watching. I'm sure they have set policies and SOP's in place to explain all that, but I'm just sayin!
Also, I may be mistaken, but I believe the Maine State Police use all slicktops - marked and unmarked. I like the idea...
Although I do love unmarked police cars, it's nice to have marked cars also so that the public can see police presence in the area.
Being able to drive the police car off-duty sounds great in theory, but there's a lot of things people have to think about such as if they're off duty and something happens are they required to assist? What if their family is in the car? Criminals know what police cars look like - marked or not. I don't know that I'd want to have my family in the car, you never know who is watching. I'm sure they have set policies and SOP's in place to explain all that, but I'm just sayin!
Also, I may be mistaken, but I believe the Maine State Police use all slicktops - marked and unmarked. I like the idea...
I have to say the whole debate about these cars is kind of funny in a way. Either way as stated before it's in their contract and part of their benefits package to use the vehicles off duty for personnel reasons. It has been this way for longer then I've been alive and doesn't look like it's changing anytime soon. In the grand scheme of things the cost of the car isn't all that much. Because they are take home cars they actually last longer (IMO) because the trooper take pride I'm them as their own vehicle. Before you get mad, I'm not saying that everyone with a pool car doesn't treat it nicely, but we all work with a few (or more) individuals that beat the hell out of their agency vehicles because "it's not mine why should I care". I know it's different to most people in other parts of the country but it works here and it has for a very long time. The only real down fall to it is that every single person with a decommissioned CVPI or a mercury causes traffic to slow down like crazy on the highway, expesially at night when you only see headlights.
emergency_ram12
Member
CTKB said:
I think that is a cleaver idea. I have also seen newer light bars that have spit controls so that when an officer stops his car he can turn off the entire front side of his light bar on top of his car and keep the rear part flashing red/blue (or blue in some states) as to keep from blinding on coming traffic if on 2-lane road.
As far as the argument for the decals, what does it really matter? In the long run the commisioner who ordered the cars probably has a long term plan for them. With the way these cars get used and how often they get replaced it makes since not to have decals on them as it costs the department (or tax payers) a great deal of money for these cars to have decals put on them. Also when they get replaced they have to take the decals off before they go to auction so now it has cost the department more money to have them taken off. Also the decals get torn and faded in the long run. So in this sense it is a good idea not to have them on there.
As far as the whole slick top deal goes, the department, just like everyone else in this economy, is probably thinking about fuel economy. I think slick top is a great idea as it allows for the department to take everything out of the car and sell it for more as it is easier to replace a rear deck or floor carpet than it is to replace a roof. Some may argue that putting silicone in a hole where the lightbars wires used to run will keep the car from leaking. This may be the case but silicone is only a short solution. It will eventually start to leak and it will cause problems.
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While I have always liked the CSP cars. I think they need grill lights on the utility's. It's an SUV and needs lower level warning.
RES347CUE
Member
Do the takedowns and alleys flash when the sedan is in drive or the siren is activated? I've seen a couple around lately that were parked, and neither the takedowns or alleys were flashing, unlike the one in the vid.
firebuff17
Member
So I don't want to bring up an old thread but...
I was behind one of these new cars the other day and he was not responding with lights/siren. I noticed when he applied the brakes they did the stutter stop. When he used blinker it was regular.
I don't remember reading about this option on any of the other threads about the new interceptors. Anyone have info on this?
I liked it. Don't know if anyone else noticed this
I was behind one of these new cars the other day and he was not responding with lights/siren. I noticed when he applied the brakes they did the stutter stop. When he used blinker it was regular.
I don't remember reading about this option on any of the other threads about the new interceptors. Anyone have info on this?
I liked it. Don't know if anyone else noticed this
Yeah, I've noticed that on all the ones I've seen. Also, I believe when the car is put in reverse, the clear hideaways in the reverse light housing activate to steady burn to provide more light when backing.
I saw a trooper on a car stop the other day in a dark gray interceptor sedan like the DMV guys drive. It didn't have a spot light or push bar. Was this one of the command staff ones or did they purposely get some without pushbars and spotlights for traffic enforcement like they did with the chargers?
I saw a trooper on a car stop the other day in a dark gray interceptor sedan like the DMV guys drive. It didn't have a spot light or push bar. Was this one of the command staff ones or did they purposely get some without pushbars and spotlights for traffic enforcement like they did with the chargers?
firebuff17
Member
Fusion11
I actually just saw a dark gray one today. Drove right by him and noticed the IONs on rear deck as I was passing him. Didn't get a chance to look further as to what else he had or maybe the type of uniform he was wearing. And no I did not get stopped. He was off the highway on a state road but in a turn lane, and I was going straight
I actually just saw a dark gray one today. Drove right by him and noticed the IONs on rear deck as I was passing him. Didn't get a chance to look further as to what else he had or maybe the type of uniform he was wearing. And no I did not get stopped. He was off the highway on a state road but in a turn lane, and I was going straight
It's the Vertex's in the tail lamp housing connected to the CanTrol unit. All the MSP Utilities have it.
pdk9
Member
I understand why they don't want to have markings on their vehicles for when they're off duty b/c most LEO agencies in southern Florida have a similar CBA policy regarding their dept-issued vehicles. However, that was not my point.
My point was that the primary purpose of these vehicle is law enforcement, hence they should be marked as such; the focus should not be on the vehicle being unmarked so that the LEOs can use them on their time off without being flagged down. I can understand chief/admin vehicles being unmarked, since they are not normal patrol vehicles, but having the entire fleet unmarked is absurd.
One of the most significant factors for why many agencies issue vehicles to individual officers is because they believe that it will cut down on vehicle maintenance & vehicles being run into the ground. It doesn't take a rock scientist to figure out that a car will be in better shape overall when one officer takes an interest in maintaining his issued vehicle & when it's not being driven code 3 by dozens of different people nonstop on all 3 shifts/tours for the day, multiplied by 365 days/yr (as is the case with RMPs in NYC and other large cities). I have no objection to issued vehicles or the officers being allowed to use them on their time off (especially commuting to/from work, training, etc) but if you really want to maintain a low profile when running errands while off duty, then use your POV
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firebuff17
Member
Thanks. I like it. In comparison to the older cars, these new interceptors are top notch.
I think they changed a couple things on some of the later issued ones. I've seen a couple at night with their cruise lights activated and the whole inner edge was in steady burn, whereas on most of the others ones only one red and one blue is illuminated.
Also,I saw one responding to a call the other day and it looked as though when the driver side was flashing red the passenger side was flashing white, and when the passenger side was flashing blue the driver side was flashing white. He was going pretty quick so it was hard to tell what exactly it was doing, but it definitely looked different than the others I've seen.
Also,I saw one responding to a call the other day and it looked as though when the driver side was flashing red the passenger side was flashing white, and when the passenger side was flashing blue the driver side was flashing white. He was going pretty quick so it was hard to tell what exactly it was doing, but it definitely looked different than the others I've seen.