Future project car, anyone?
A Lake County Officer out of Indiana was driving 1 of 9 Dodge Charger Hellcats owned by the department on the highway recently when a semi-truck sideswiped the Mopar, leaving it seriously damaged. We already know many will automatically bristle at a cop driving a Hellcat, but according to the department it and the other 8 weren’t purchased using taxpayer funds. Instead, they were paid for using seized drug money.
This isn’t the only police department to have a Hellcat, like this one here.
On September 27 police pursued a suspect who crossed the state line into Illinois. That chase started at about 11:30 am when officers noted a Chevy Impala was speeding. There was also a problem with how the license plate was displayed. When officers tried pulling the sedan over for those violations, the driver sped through a gas station, trying to lose the cops.
The suspect got onto Interstate 80/94 and crossed the state line, and somewhere in the mix the Dodge Charger Hellcat joined in. We can’t imagine the Impala could dish out anything the Hellcat couldn’t handle, which might be why the suspect decided to get fancy and drove onto the shoulder, or maybe he was trying to get around people who weren’t speeding. Either way, he slammed into the back of a disabled car left on the shoulder.
Like so many criminals, the suspect thought running on foot would be smart. That’s when a K-9 officer tracked him with his dog, with some assistance of a helicopter. The guy also got bit by the dog, which is why you don’t run. Also, thinking you can outrun a Hellcat in an Impala is just foolish.
Again, no matter what there will be people who have a problem with cops using a Hellcat, just like there are people who freak out over them using BearCats or a Rook. Considering police must chase down potentially violent offenders who drive ridiculously quick cars like Hellcats, it’s probably a good thing they’re leveling the playing field like this. And unlike so many idiots who get a vehicle they can’t handle, the officer in this situation didn’t wreck out while trying to hotdog around, but instead was involved in a scary accident which could happen to anyone.
Source: Region News Source
