Police debut electric cars for SROs

NORWALK, Conn. — The city’s fleet of electric vehicles expanded Wednesday with the debut of two police cars emblazoned with the colors and mascots of Norwalk’s two high schools.

The cars will be used by the Police Department’s School Resource Officers (SROs), who are patrol officers specially trained to work in schools interacting with students and faculty.

“The vehicles further our agenda of trying to make Norwalk the greenest city in the state,” said Mayor Harry Rilling (D) at a news conference in front of Brien McMahon High School on Highland Avenue.

Rilling credited Police Chief James Walsh with the idea of wrapping the cars with the schools’ identities, saying it kind of gives the students ownership of the vehicles.

Walsh noted that several high school students participated in creating the wrapper designs.

“We felt this collaboration was vital for this project to strengthen the partnership and commitment for safety in school resources between the Norwalk Police Dept. and the Norwalk Public Schools,” Walsh said.

The Police Department introduced two electric vehicles Wednesday that will be used by its School Resource Officers. The cars are wrapped in the colors and mascots of Norwalk High School and Brien McMahon High School. (Photos: Harold Cobin)

The roughly $10,000 cost of wrapping the cars was contributed by Fleet Auto Supply of West Haven, which does a lot of business with the city, Rilling said.

The cars are police versions of electric Chevrolet Blazers, outfitted with the same emergency equipment and data terminal as the department’s gasoline-powered patrol cruisers.

Walsh said the department will use the two cars to assess expanding the use of electric vehicles in different areas of police operations.

Norwalk High School Student Nicole Marasco said that with the unveiling of electric police vehicles in the city, “we’re not just seeing a change in transportation. We’re seeing a commitment to a healthier, more sustainable future.”

Including the two new cars, the city utilizes seven electric vehicles and many hybrid vehicles.

The city has 12 electric vehicle charging stations at City Hall on East Avenue, two at Police Headquarters on Monroe Street, and six at the Public Works garage on Smith Street.