COVINGTON, Ky. — The Covington Police Department is hoping to make some serious upgrades to its aging fleet of police vehicles.

As officers explained, they’re making do with what they have, but the older cars pose a safety threat to them and the community they protect.

Throughout his 13 years with the Covington Police Department traffic division, Sgt. Greg Rogers has accumulated quite a few stories from being out on the road. But a few too many of them, he said, have to do with his car preventing him from doing his job.

“I went to speed up to go catch a speeding motorist. And I’ve had a misfire on the engine,” he said in one example. “That day, that person got away.”

Many of the department’s vehicles are from 2013. (Spectrum News 1/Sam Knef)

In another story, his car broke down.

“[It was] in the middle of me trying to get to a foot pursuit, which I wound up having to leave the car on the street, and try to finish running the rest of the way to the call,” he said.

Of the many tools at an officer’s disposal, the car may be the most important, Rogers said.

“This is your office when you’re out on the road. I’ll eat lunch in my car. I do my paperwork here on my computer,” he said.

Covington Police Chief Robert Nader made another comparison.

“That’s where they do their reports. That’s where they have to do their training sometimes, so yeah, there’s a lot of time spent there,” he said. “It’s almost like, in the olden days, it’s your horse. This is your old reliable.”

Many of the cars are old, but haven’t always been so reliable. While Rogers’ odometer reads just under 74,000 miles, he said the wear and tear is equivalent to 300,000 miles.

“They drive all day. So instead of going to and from the grocery store, to and from work, to and from school, they’re idling 10 hours a day to 20 hours a day if they’re doubled up with two different offices on back-to-back shifts,” Nader said.

Nader said the department would ideally buy six to 10 vehicles a year in the past to replace older ones, but in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2019, they didn’t buy any.

Seventeen of the fleet’s cars are from 2013, with projected lifespans of seven to 10 years. Most of those are Ford Tauruses, which Nader said are difficult to fit officers over six feet tall in, or people they apprehend in the back. 

“I made a joke about it, because our fleet was getting so old, and the paint was chipping off, that I might as well go ahead and get a historic tag on it,” Nader said.

Todd Marshall is a mechanic for the city of Covington. (Spectrum News 1/Sam Knef)

When things break down, they end up at the city fleet garage.

“We at least got a couple in a day we’re working on. And it could be anywhere from just preventive maintenance to repairs needed as they come. You start seeing a lot more engine wear and other mechanical issues,” said Todd Marshall, a mechanic for the city of Covington. 

At some point, the repairs aren’t worth it.

“Sometimes those start getting costly to start repairing, and outweigh the cost of the actual vehicle,” Marshall said. “Tax payers pay money. You’re looking to try to get the best bang for the money on them. So do you spend it on repairing vehicles? It’s basically kicking the can down the road.”

Marshall said he and other city mechanics take their jobs seriously.

“We want them to be able to be ready at any time an emergency would happen. A lot of people’s lives depend on them to be there,” he said.

On March 1, the city board of commissioners voted 5-0 to amend the City’s budget mid-year to set aside $500,000 to buy 10 new cruisers. The money is coming from the 2021-22 unassigned fund balance. The commission will vote on a contract to buy 10 Ford SUV Interceptors and another contract to “upfit” them with police equipment, including lights, sirens, and cages. 

As of now, the plan is to retire six vehicles that are long past their useful life.

The new vehicles won’t be ready for another eight months. Until then, officers like Rogers will continue to make the best of what they have.

“This is the car that I drive every day, and I want to make sure that it functions properly and I take good care of it, because I’d rather have it than not have it,” Rogers said. “If people call the police, they want us there. And they shouldn’t have to be concerned if that officer responding is going to make it there, or if their car is going to break down and they’re gonna have to find another officer to respond.”

Nader said sometimes he’s even brought retired vehicles from other departments in to be repaired to account for Covington’s vehicle shortage.