43
Coitsville to replace cruisers
By JOE GORMAN
COITSVILLE
The township police department is getting a new set of wheels — two new sets of wheels to be exact.
Chief Michael Morris said the department has ordered two new Dodge Charger police cruisers and expects to have them by the end of June.
Morris said the two cruisers will replace two Fords that were purchased in 2006 and 2008 and have many more than 100,000 miles on them.
Cost for the cruisers is about $22,900, Morris said, adding he budgeted the money for them in the equipment fund of his 2013 budget.
Several departments are turning to the new Ford Taurus police model since Ford has stopped making the Crown Victoria police package, but Morris said he does not want to buy the new Fords because he is not a fan of the smaller engine.
The Charger has a V8 engine.
“I’m a V8 guy,” Morris said.
He said the department once had Chevrolet Impala cruisers with a V6 engine, and they did not hold up well to the rigors of police work.
“Those V6s just don’t last in a police cruiser,” Morris said.
The department now has a Charger cruiser, and that was another factor in his decision to keep everything the same as much as possible, Morris said.
The department also welcomed a new officer recently with the hiring of Brian Granchie, who started in mid-April, Morris said.
Granchie began prepping for a police career in Columbiana, where he was involved in their junior program when he was 16. He works part time for Coitsville and also works for Mill Creek MetroParks Police.
Granchie’s hiring gives the department two full-time officers and 11 part-time officers, Morris said.
Morris said at one time the department had 20 officers, with four of those being full-time officers. The department had to cut back because of budget woes but the passage of a 1.5-mill levy in November is allowing it to add more officers, Morris said.
Since the levy was passed, two part-time officers have been added, including Granchie.