Page 398 - NIXBOOK

Like all the other cars, we only got one or maybe two a year. The police chief usually asked for 3, and the city council would
typically only authorize one or two. The first several we got were plain black with simple graphics that I helped design. We also
got away from mounting lightbars on the roof – those things were pretty expensive and because they were exposed to the weather
they were not in the best shape to be recycled or reused after 7 or 8 years. So we had the lights mounted up in the top of the
windshield, on the inside.

Those Chevy Tahoes were pretty good police cars. They had a lot of room in the back seat for prisoners, a ton of room in the
very back for equipment and police gear, and they handled beautifully, with excellent acceleration.

The one I got issued was my best police car yet; I loved it. I could get up to 90 mph very quickly and it was very smooth, with
no shaking or shuddering or wiggle. And it was very capable in the snow and ice; I never needed tire chains for traction.

It was not uncommon for a new police chief to go for a new look, and changing the color scheme of the patrol cars was the most
visible method. So our next chief wanted to try out a black and white look, and the city council signed off on it. We had the
doors painted white, and new graphics were made. I was tasked with coming up with the graphic design again, and I presented
several proposals and one of them was picked. The officers soon dubbed the look “the orca” and from then on we commonly
referred to the Tahoes as Orca Whales.