VCSO unveils newest, fully electric addition to fleet

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) – The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office has introduced its first fully electric patrol vehicle.

VSCO believes it has become the first sheriff’s office in Indiana to unveil a fully electric patrol car.

Though there’s a number of bells and whistles with the vehicle – including a self-driving feature – VSCO tells Eyewitness News the car has a purpose.

“We will use it for patrol, but primarily its purpose is going to be for public outreach — trying to use it as a recruitment inducement; being at job fairs; being at job fairs; being at car shows, schools, parades, public functions,” Sheriff Noah Robinson explains. “We’d like to be out there and be visible.”

Sheriff Robinson says people have started to notice.

“I’ve already got some looks. We’ve been driving around town, so we hope it’s going to build conversations and be a harbinger of things to come,” Sheriff Robinson says. “We know the fleet’s going to eventually go electric. Just the way things are going, and this would be a good demonstration to prove that the technology is mature enough for police use.”

Eyewitness News also asked Sheriff Robinson if we will see more fully electric patrol cars on the road soon.

He explains that cost and efficiency will be the main drivers.

“I always want to be a good steward of the taxpayer dollars,” Sheriff Robinson says. “If it makes economic sense — that’s the pricing I’ve seen so far — it seems reasonable. If it makes economic sense, then we’ll go that route.”

The patrol car goes into service beginning Saturday at the Evansville Police Foundation Public Safety Car Show. The event begins at 11 a.m. at Wesselman Park.

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