Ford Police "Interceptor" SUV

[Rex G]

Attrition has been claiming our aging Tahoes, so I have been assigned a Ford for a occasional shift, off and on, while patrolling alone, but last night I was training a PPO, who needs to drive to really learn the job, so I got to experience riding shotgun. Now I know where the "Interceptor" part comes from, as my Safariland 6360, on my right hip, encounters the right seat bolster, and I have to lift my legs uncomfortably high to clear the lower front part of the door, and then there is nothing within easy reach to grab, in order to facilitate my climb from this hydridized offspring of a coffin and a bomber's ball turret.

Well, one should should not "beach" without offering solutions, so one solution might be to check the local cop shop, and try to find a lefty duty holster. This would mitigate the duty holster hitting/binding against the seat bolster, when riding shotgun, but would presumably be an obstacle when I patrol alone. (Switching duty holster position should be a permanent switch, and would require thousands of repetitions, with plenty of daily refresher reps.)

Another solution would be shoes instead of old-school stitch-down-sole Danners, but, well, no, would rather not.

My weight/girth is not an issue; I still buy 34" Safariland duty belts, same as I did in 1984. Perhaps a surgeon could remove an inch or two from each femur, and graft the resulting parts back together.

OK, time to perfect the forward-roll-diving exit.

Let's be safe out there. Life is good.

[voodoo_man]

While I have not ridden shotgun for many years, I can say without hesitation you just get used to it.

I'd never swap holster sides as that's just not something I'd want to do without absolutely having to do to an injury.

As for the "interceptor" SUV - I assume you are talking about the 16+ new explorers? They are better than the 14-15 explorers by a wide margin, at least the interceptor explorers we have. We got several 14 and 15 explorers which are slowly being replaced with 16 and 17 explorers and I have to say I am very happy with their performance so far.

I am not happy with any of the police taurus sedans. The doors open too short, the cars are wide and their turn radius sucks.

[JustOneGun]

Ha! I found the seatbelt would hurt me but not the holster. I would reach for the belt latch, it's not there and the timing of the maneuver would get messed up. That would result in me almost strangling myself. Plus the rookie was halfway down the block chasing the bad guy by the time I unfarcked myself.

As VM says, I wouldn't change anything. I would just get used to it. Of course when you get two or three trainees in a row and switch back to driving alone, well you'll strangle yourself in the driver's side seat. But at least the red marks on your neck will now match. LOL!

[Rex G]

Thanks for the comments/thoughts.

I reckon that an intermediate solution might be to get a right-hand G19 holster, and scoot it as far forward as possible on my duty belt, perhaps about 0200-0230, which might be better than the present pole-vaulting with my 1911, over the right-side seat holster. A 1911 holster is too long to move to 0200-0230, but a G19 holster might have enough clearance.

I agree that switching to 0900 carry is not something that should be taken lightly, but I am one of those dain-bramaged individuals who is left-handed, but right-armed, so shooting lefty is not a handicap, especially with Glocks, as my more-skilled left index finger can better handle the complex Gluncky trigger. (Long-stroke DA, and the crisp 1911 trigger, are relatively caveman-simple.) I had already been considering switching to lefty primary carry, due to wear/tear/age-related chronic afflictions of my right hand and wrist, but was going to try to wait until after retirement, or perhaps switching to a plainclothes role. During personal time, I have already been tending to wear a pair of G19 pistols, or a G19 and G26, one for each hand to access.

[Rex G]

While I have not ridden shotgun for many years, I can say without hesitation you just get used to it.

I'd never swap holster sides as that's just not something I'd want to do without absolutely having to do to an injury.

As for the "interceptor" SUV - I assume you are talking about the 16+ new explorers? They are better than the 14-15 explorers by a wide margin, at least the interceptor explorers we have. We got several 14 and 15 explorers which are slowly being replaced with 16 and 17 explorers and I have to say I am very happy with their performance so far.

I am not happy with any of the police taurus sedans. The doors open too short, the cars are wide and their turn radius sucks.

I ride shotgun with some regularity. A PPO has to drive three nights of each training/evaluation work week, and when not FTO-ing, I usually ride Tuesday night with an officer who prefers to ride with a partner. (Her regular partner and she have staggered nights off.)

I think the Ford SUV we have been driving this week is a 2016. I mostly succeeded in avoiding being issued the 2014/2015 models. Our division only had one or two of the Taurus-based Interceptors; I think just one, and our radar guy used it before being issued a Chevrolet. That is our division's only Chevrolet; all other recently-acquired patrol vehicles have been the Ford Explorer-like Police Interceptors.

We still have a few Crown Vics, but most have been ridden almost to death. I have much affection for the Crown Vic, including the ones from the Eighties. FWIW, on the episode of Cops, where the film crew was riding with Houston PD, and the chase ended in a public housing project near Downtown, I was driving the only Eighties Crown Vic in that chase; the other cars were Chevrolets. That chase is on a "Best of" DVD, of the old Cops shows. (I had hair then, which was still brown in color, and was the officer with the shotgun. I used that shotgun's stock to shatter the driver's window of that pickup truck, to keep him from rocking free of that mudhole. I don't think the shattering of the window was on the DVD, as the film crew had not yet gotten into position. Those were the days of high adventure; I miss them.)

[TGS]

While I have not ridden shotgun for many years, I can say without hesitation you just get used to it.

I'd never swap holster sides as that's just not something I'd want to do without absolutely having to do to an injury.

As for the "interceptor" SUV - I assume you are talking about the 16+ new explorers? They are better than the 14-15 explorers by a wide margin, at least the interceptor explorers we have. We got several 14 and 15 explorers which are slowly being replaced with 16 and 17 explorers and I have to say I am very happy with their performance so far.

I am not happy with any of the police taurus sedans. The doors open too short, the cars are wide and their turn radius sucks.

What is so much better about the newer ones other than looks? Genuinely curious. I have a 13 for work, and while it's not an Interceptor model I am outright impressed with the base vehicle to the point I would even consider buying one if I needed something bigger than my Outback. It took some getting used to but now I get withdrawal if I don't have it; I had an impala for a week while waiting on some repairs, and felt like I was going to crash every turn compared to the stability and confidence of the Explorer. It's in an entirely separate realm of capability compared to Tahoes or Suburbans; the stability it has at highway speeds compared to those (and even most cars) is incredible.

Thanks in advance.

[voodoo_man]

So first and foremost the new taurus sedans aren't designed for uniformed officers in mind. I am not the biggest officer out there and I have issues getting in and out with snagging my radio or whatnot. The doors just don't open far enough. Aside from that, they aren't nimble like the 12-14 Impalas. They are big and heavy, lots of guys crash them because the design doesn't allow you see behind you when reversing and we don't have the versions with a camera.

The 14-15 explorers, while fast, don't offer anything in terms of turn radius and we have flipped several of them due to tire thickness vs wheel base issues. That's one of the reasons why we got Tahoe's, to see if it's just the truck or us, but we flipped those even more. We crash slot of cars.

The biggest issue with the 14-15 explorers is that they are, essentially, the same interior as the Taurus, except with a little bit more leg room. I expected more out of an SUV. Stop new ones are different inside and not only more roomy but very comfortable to get in and out of daily. They are also faster by a bit.

Having had old crown vics, both models of Impalas (round rear lights and standard), new taurus, both new explorers, and Tahoes, my first favorite is the rounded Impalas and second is the newest explorers.

The Impalas (non circle tail lights) are really easy to drive, small but have wide opening doors that allow large guys to get in and they fast enough for most police work, only issue is they will overheat on you in pursuits or hot work days when you are running code from call to call. The new explorers are fantastic all around, even have standard backup camera in the mirrors which is absolutely required. The only real issue is we have brand new explorers which get 6-8 mpg. We thought it was bs at first but after a shift driving about 30ish miles average it's less than a tank. When the explorers first came out I got one and then got into a pursuit right out of the gate, full tank and all. Lasted about 12 mins and traveled about 10 miles overall. I was at less than half a tank. I thought it was broken and had the mechanic look at it and his response was "that's just how these things go..."to

[rojocorsa]

Did my last ridealong in one of these newer explorers. 12hrs shift. As a bigger guy, I found it at little easier to get in and out of than the normal Crown vic.

When I become a cop here, it appears I'll be driving a Dodge Challenger. I know they have Tahoes too, but not for the new guy.

[PD Sgt.]

I am not happy with any of the police taurus sedans. The doors open too short, the cars are wide and their turn radius sucks.

Do not forget more blind spots than Hellen Keller.

I usually worked wagons myself, but when I would ride shotgun in a regular cruiser I felt like I was getting in and out of a clown car.

[MD7305]

I started driving an Interceptor Utlity in 2012 (it was a 2013 model). We replaced our fleet of CVPIs with the utilities. I really like it, much better than the Intrepid, Impala, and CVPIs I drove in the past. Overall ours have been reliable although our first 5-6 all had catalytic converters (2 per) replaced under warranty. I was assigned to a 2017 model this fall. Overall I can't tell much has changed aside from some body styling, headlights, and some interior controls/tweaks but I personally think the newer version runs and handles better than the '13 model I had. The new standard back up camera is a blessing!!! The blind spots while reversing these things are evil!

I rarely ride two to a car and even less in the passenger seat. It always feels so weird getting in and out of that side of the car. Even with the Crown Vic I felt like a little old lady trying to climb out of the passenger side. I guess all those reps getting in and out of the drivers side add up after a while.