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Ind. agency gets first Tesla designed for K-9 units

The new Tesla Model Y accompanies the department’s first K-9

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The Bargersville PD now owns a Tesla designed exclusively for K-9 units.

Bargersville Police Department Facebook

By Amanda Spence

BARGERSVILLE, Ind. — An Indiana police department has two new deliveries: its first K-9 officer who will be patrolling in a K-9-equipped Tesla.

Tesmanian reported the Tesla Model Y is the tenth vehicle the Bargersville Police Department has purchased from Tesla. The dog’s cage opens with the door, making it more efficient to release Dax. The officer’s new Tesla also includes climate control in the cage for the new K-9 as well. Tesla’s Dog Mode feature keeps the car cool or hot so animals can stay in the vehicle. An alert displays on the screen to let passersby know the animal is good and what the temperature is set at.

Bargersville PD first purchased a Tesla Model 3 in 2019, with saving money the main motivation. In 2020, Chief of Police Todd Bertram said: “Two big things that we were looking at when shopping for cars were obviously cost and performance. Many times when you get a car that is in our cost price range, you sacrifice performance. With Tesla, the performance is better than the cars we are currently driving. It’s amazing, it’s smooth, it’s powerful, it handles great.”

According to the Daily Journal, the department’s first K-9 officer, Dax, is undergoing a 12-week training program with his handler, Officer Jefferson Lamping.

Most departments in the Johnson County area already have at least one K-9 unit.

“The town council deemed it would be a good time to get a narcotics detection tracking dog,” Jeremy Roll, a public information officer explained. “Usually, budgetary issues come up and sometimes you have to go without things, but it seems like all the other departments had one and it was time to step up our robust narcotics interdiction,” he said. “This will help out with open-air sniffs of vehicles when it comes to methamphetamines, cocaine, heroin, things of that nature.”

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