Columbus City Council approves proposal for fleet of new cars for law enforcement

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - Residents could see a lot of new law enforcement vehicles on the road in Columbus.

Columbus City Council voted to add 72 brand new law enforcement vehicles to their different agencies.

“I’ve never seen 72 vehicles come through for me to approve it,” said District 2 Councilman Glenn Davis.

Council passed a purchase to dedicate $1.85 million to add the law enforcement Dodge Chargers to the streets of Columbus.

“It’s better equipment for them to be able to police the streets and try to keep our neighborhoods safe,” said Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson.

Henderson said the vehicles are a much-needed upgrade for officers and deputies due to some of the inventory being outdated. He said it’s making the job harder to enforce public safety.

“We don’t want our public safety personnel with equipment they can’t depend on. Council did a good job of making sure of that,” said Henderson.

According to city the council, the Columbus Police Department will get 50 new vehicles, the sheriff’s office will get 21 and the marshal’s office will get one. Council members said it’s a good investment of taxpayer dollars.

“I hope it means something to the men and women of public safety and the citizens of Columbus because it’s they’re hard-earned tax dollars that’s out there being used for the infrastructure for these fine men and women of public safety,” said Davis.

“I think it’s an example of how council listens to public safety and what a great job they do to try to accommodate their needs,” explained Henderson.

This comes after hiring events for both Columbus police and the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office to tackle shortages in their respective departments. These new vehicles will be equipped with new shotguns, laptops, and other accessories. This has to go through the GMA for the purchase and you could see them in the coming year.

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