LOS INDIOS — They’re bright, shiny, new and you may already have seen them around.
Police Chief Jose De La Rosa recently received two fully-loaded vehicles that he and his officers will be using to combat crime along the border.
The police department now has a Ford Explorer and Ford Police Interceptor sedan that are equipped with night vision, flood lights and two-way speed detectors.
“We are very excited we are able to do police work in a more efficient way,” said Rick Cavazos, Los Indios mayor. “It’s an effort to increase safety and security to our residents.”
The city paid close to $70,000 for the two police vehicles.
“They are in service now and we look forward to continue the community policing of the neighborhoods and along the highway,” Cavazos said.
The department also received a four-wheeler, all terrain vehicle to dispatch into muddy terrain or help along the river where the patrol cars can’t travel.
Yesterday, De La Rosa, 28, who promotes community policing first, calmly directed a driver who was stopped in a no-parking zone in front of the Los Indios Community Center and kindly asked her to move her vehicle.
De La Rosa is the city’s first police chief and only full-time officer since the department opened last year.
“We want people to see our units (police cars) and little by little the department is growing into a 24-hour department,” De La Rosa said. “We have accomplished a lot in just one year.”
And at the last city meeting, the council voted to hire one more full-time police officer.
The city also has applied for a grant with the Department of Justice to fund another police vehicle to add to the fleet.
De La Rosa has had 11 part-time police officers on rotating shifts for the past year.
“The main activity here is traffic,” De La Rosa said. “We deal with 80 percent of people who are not U.S. drivers.”
