Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Little City, Larger Police Cruisers, and Big Unkept Promises


The Hudson Police Department appears to have a new vehicle for its patrol officers, and I think that this is noteworthy for a few reasons.


First, it is nearly all white with black letters.  This is a complete departure from all the other HPD vehicles one sees on our streets, which are all black with white letters.  This is an improvement, as black vehicles are involved in the more accidents than vehicles of any other color.  And the all-black police vehicle look is so unwelcoming, intimidating, and gloomy.

Second, the white vehicle is larger than any of the other HPD vehicles out there.  It's a monster, made by Chevrolet, but without a model name anywhere to be found on it. It is a bit larger than the black cruisers, which are souped-up Ford Explorers, I believe.  I would love to know what kind of mileage the huge Chevy gets puttering around town.   

It's not fair to call police vehicles cars anymore -- the SUV has taken over, as it has in the public realm.  So, what do we call this new vehicle and the other black ones?  Cop SUV's?  Police Patrol Vehicles (PPV)?  Police Cruisers?  Okay, police cruisers. 

Third, the new white police cruiser has an identifying name written on it, that of SUPERVISOR.  I didn't know that HPD had a supervisor position.  Is that somewhere between captain and chief?  Who is the supervisor?  I've seen a few different officers in the white cruiser lately, so are they all supervisors when in the driver's seat?

2 HPD detectives' cars

Actually, HPD does have a few cars still -- all of them straight black.  One, with white letters, is for officers on patrol driving all around town.  At least two others, both unmarked, are for detectives, both of which have such heavily tinted windows that every time I see one drive by, I get creeped out.  Why does HPD need to have these windows so heavily tinted?  How does this foster good community policing?

When our present Police Chief, Ed Moore, introduced himself to the Hudson community after he was hired in 2013, he said the following:  "The police car was a bad invention.  It cuts us from the people we're meant to serve...I made a promise for more foot patrols, and I plan to keep it."  This is laughable.  I can count the number of times I have seen an HPD officer on foot patrol in the past 9 years on one finger.  I saw one a few blocks from the old HPD station on Warren Street several years ago.

According to the 2013 Rogovoy Report article where this information comes from, Ed Moore added a few other hopes and promises: That a state detail would be inspecting trucks coming through town to be sure they are up to code.  He was sure many would be found in violation.  This, too, is laughable.  HPD doesn't even bother pulling over and ticketing trucks that stray off the truck route.  But HPD does respond in their SUV's when these trucks get stuck trying to make a turn at a corner.

10 years ago, Ed Moore also claimed that it was a poor use of resources for the police to be dealing with parking violations, and that he had scheduled a meeting in Albany to turn over the policing of parking to some other agency.  Considering that the 4 parking enforcers positions are still with HPD a decade later, one wonders if that meeting ever actually took place.  In 7 years of regularly attending Informal Council meetings, I have never once heard Ed Moore express his desire to get parking tickets and other parking related matters out of HPD's hands.  Not once. 

Apparently, Ed also had plans for an "open, welcoming reception area for the new police station" on Union Street.  That did not come to be, either.  Everyone entering the new police station wanting to speak to someone at HPD must pick up a phone.  There is nothing available to wipe the phone of germs, and the person behind the bullet proof glass is all but impossible to see, sitting behind a bank of computer screens. So very welcoming, indeed.

The city-issued vehicle (or possibly personal vehicle) that Ed Moore can be seen driving in Hudson, or parked at the HPD station, is all black. 

Here is Seth's article from 10 years ago: Old School Police Chief 



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