The Brownwood City Council approved the purchase of a new Dodge Charger on Tuesday to be added to the police department’s patrol car fleet.

This will be the first Charger added to the fleet, but will not be the last.  The Dodge Chargers are the newest make of vehicles being used in law enforcement, and the city will slowly transition their fleet over to the Chargers according to Brownwood City Manager Bobby Rountree.   Crown Victoria models, which are currently in use by the police department, are no longer being manufactured by Ford after this year.   The city usually budgets for three new vehicle purchases per year Rountree said.

This new patrol car purchase will cost $20,422 which will replace a recently wrecked police vehicle.   Funding for this new Charger will come from the city’s self insurance fund and will not affect the budget.

Assistant Police Chief James Fuller said that the vehicle should be delivered in less than two weeks, but will have to be outfitted with police equipment once it arrives.

Fuller said that once the car is ready for service, it will rotate use among the officers.

“I hope that all the officers get a chance to try out the new model,” stated Fuller.