San Mateo Police Go Electric With New Patrol Motorcycles
SAN MATEO (KCBS) - The San Mateo Police Department's latest acquisition, a fully electric patrol motorcycle, is being produced in the Bay Area.
The department has partnered with Zero Motorcycles of Scotts Valley in acquiring the state-of-the-art electric Police Patrol Motorcycle. Along with being more energy-efficient, the motorcycles are also quieter than normal bikes.
San Mateo Police Go Electric With New Patrol Motorcycle
"The nice thing about those bikes is that they're very versatile. It's a hybrid version in between a conventional motorcycle that we might use for patrol purposes already and dirt bike motorcycles, that you see sometimes in urban environments like San Francisco," said San Mateo Police Sgt. Dave Norris.
The department said they will use the motorcycle in various capacities and officials said the fact that it is pretty quiet will help in operations like drug enforcement.
John Lloyd, Vice President of Global Sales for Zero Motorcycles, said the motorcycles are catching on internationally as well.
"We've deployed a hundred units into the Bogota, Columbia Police Department and another 59 units in Hong Kong," he said.
In the Bay Area, Zero Motorcycles are used by police at San Jose State, the Foothill/De Anza College Campus, and the police departments in Monterrey, Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley.
The 2013 Zero DS Police Motorcycle has a range of 137 miles in the city and can travel at a top speed of 95 mph. They are also able to last an entire shift on one charge.
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