MANSFIELD — The Mansfield Police Department will soon have two new cruisers equipped for K-9 partners.
The city’s Board of Control on Tuesday approved a request from Chief Jason Bammann to spend $152,265.54 for the two fully-equipped 2026 Dodge Durango vehicles from Jim Shorkey Ford in White Oak, Pa.
The base price for each vehicle is $44,829 and K-9/police upgrades are about $31,303 each.
The chief said two of the department’s three K-9 vehicles are aging with between 120,000 and 130,000 miles each. The MPD currently had three K-9 officers.
He said the K-9 vehicles are different from other vehicles in the department fleet, which are used by different officers on nearly every shift.
“We get like triple life from the K-9 vehicles because the officers take the vehicle home with them at the end of each shift,” he said.
Bammann said the dealership has the Durango vehicles on its lot for immediate purchase.
The chief said the wait for Ford-produced law enforcement equivalents is up to two years.
He also said manufacturers are pushing law enforcement agencies to purchase SUVs.
“We actually wanted a sedan because it’s easier for the dog to get in and out, but all they want to make (for law enforcement) now are the SUVs,” Bammann said.
The chief said the funds will come from the department’s capital funds. He said the department recently recovered about $31,000 from insurance companies for two other MPD vehicles that had been totaled in accidents.
The purchase will still need Mansfield City Council approval.