HOULTON, Maine — Anyone who has been driving around the Houlton area lately may have noticed a drastically different looking police SUV patrolling the streets.
The Houlton Police Department unveiled its newest police cruiser Thursday afternoon and its appearance is a marked change for the police force. Sporting a black and white paint scheme, the 2016 Ford SUV Interceptor is a vastly different from the previous coloring — a silver vehicle with blue lettering.
“Going forward, this is the new look for our fleet,” Houlton Police Chief Tim DeLuca said. “We feel it is a vintage look that is also more traditional.”
After an HPD pick-up truck was involved in three accidents in less than six months last year and was totaled in the final one, Chief DeLuca opted not to replace that truck in the police fleet. Instead, he requested at a Jan. 9 meeting that the town council waive the bid process and approve a $26,300 black 2016 Ford Explorer SUV from Quirk of Augusta.
The chief said the model, which has 300 miles on it, was being recommended because it would be available immediately at the state bid price. If they accepted the $28,664 second bid from York’s of Houlton, the chief said, the unit would not be ready until sometime between March and May.
Councilors voted 4-0-1, with Sue Waite-York abstaining, to approve the chief’s request.
Chief DeLuca said the black and white color pattern was selected to both make the vehicles more visible — particularly in the winter — and to also mesh more with the black and white motif associated with the Houlton Middle-High School colors of the Shiretowners.
Moving forward, any new police vehicles will feature this color pattern. There are no plans to repaint any of the existing police vehicles, the chief said, since it would be cost prohibitive.
