Somerton Police Department get new electric tricycles to help patrolling efforts

SOMERTON, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - The Somerton Police Department (SPD) is rolling out a new way to patrol with electric tricycles. They hope by using these vehicles they can engage with the community in a more approachable way.

Captain Joe Jenkins says these tricycles are designed to help officers be more efficient when responding to emergency situations.

"They're battery operated so obviously that's going to save on gas and maintenance. They can travel upwards of 40 miles per hour and last probably the entire shift so the efficiency is what were looking at," Captain Jenkins said.

Jenkins says the community has already been enjoying them.

"We've already had a positive turn out for community engagement. We had kids going by when the officers were doing training and were asking what the were and if they could ride them, so were really wanting to take advantage of that and get into the community with them and show them what they can do," Jenkins explained.

Sergeant Heriberto Madrigal gave a demonstration of the features that are included in the tricycle: "What you see here is trike vehicle thats fully electric and equipped with voice red and blue lights. This is a vehicle that can be utilized on parks, sidewalks and streets. It comes with a police packet which has its on compartments that can store ET kits, tools that the officers need for daily operations."

Captain Jenkins says these tricycles should be deployed into the community for patrolling purposes starting next week.