Harckham’s State Grant Helps Fund Purchase of New Brewster Police Vehicle

Brewster, NY - New York State Senator Pete Harckham secured $50,000 in state grant funding for the Brewster Police Department, and recently he had an opportunity to see the new patrol vehicle that was purchased with the grant.

Brewster’s new 2020 Dodge Charger Police Car is manufactured with power and performance in mind, along with safety and storage considerations. In addition, the all-wheel drive vehicle offers fuel savings, which saves taxpayer dollars and reduces carbon dioxide emissions. Because of production issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting supply chain limitations, the police car was not delivered to Brewster until earlier this year.

“This new police vehicle meets the department’s needs and is more fuel efficient than most similar models, a real win-win situation,” said Harckham. “And being able to secure funding for the vehicle will alleviate some of the tax burden on residents.” 

“For public safety and law enforcement professionals, it is vital for them to have updated equipment to do their jobs,” said Brewster Police Chief John Del Gardo. “This new police car is, in terms of performance and technology, a big upgrade from our older vehicles, and we’re grateful to Senator Harckham for providing grant funding to help us with the purchase.”

The Dodge Charger Police car is the best-selling law enforcement sedan on the road today, and for the 2020 model, vehicles were manufactured with a new, fuel-efficient eight-speed transmission.

Also, for 2020, the Charger Police car comes with a no-cost Officer Protection Package that includes rear vision and enhanced officer safety when parked and working inside their vehicle. When activated, the rear-facing camera and sensors detect movement behind the vehicle, automatically sending images to the vehicle’s interactive touchscreen.

Safety and space improvements include a 12.1-inch video display on the front dash, which  integrates law enforcement systems and innovative technology. In addition to the pursuit-rated hardware that includes a V8 engine with 370 horsepower, the vehicle offers the segment’s most advanced all-wheel-drive (AWD) system for maximum tactical performance, all-weather traction and fuel efficiency. The vehicle’s top speed is 149 mph and jumps from zero to 160 mph in less than six seconds.

Located in the Town of Southeast, the Village of Brewster is the most densely populated part of Putnam County. Both US Route 202 and State Route 22 concurrently border the village on the south, and Interstate 84 is on the east side of the village, where it intersects with nearby Interstate 684—making it necessary to have police vehicles that excel in pursuit.

The awarded grant funding was secured within the State and Municipal Facilities Program (SAM), which is among the grant programs administered by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) to support community and economic development. Harckham has delivered more than $5,000,000 of state grant funding to municipalities and nonprofits in SD40 over the past year.