KEWEENAW COUNTY – At its regular January meeting, the County Board of Commissioners approved the Sheriff’s Department’s purchase of a Chevy Tahoe. If a 2025 Tahoe is still available, that would be preferred but if not, a 2026 Tahoe is allowed. In rural communities, larger vehicles, like the Tahoe, are more practical than sedans typically used in more urban areas.

Police Patrol Vehicles (PPVs) are typically replaced when they have acquired 100,000-150,000 miles, but this is based on the agency’s budget. In the case of Keweenaw County, which is considered the most rural county in Michigan. According to the Western U.P. Planning and Development Region (WPPDR), it is the smallest in the state by both land area and population; it also has a much tighter budget.

Keweenaw County Sheriff Curt Pennala said, on average, the department’s vehicles acquire more than 50,000 miles per year, so that at the end of a four-year period, a vehicle will be replaced when it reaches about 200,000 miles.

In rural counties, law enforcement agencies often encounter extreme ranges in weather conditions, roads and terrain, and require a vehicle equipped for extreme use.

“We can go from driving on U.S. 41 to a dirt road,” Pennala said, “then drive all the way out to High Rock Bay in a shift, so having something that’s capable of the terrain differences is crucial.”

This is just one of the reasons rural PPVs are equipped with modifications not offered on standard vehicles. According to government-fleet.com, after Chevrolet has manufactured the base vehicles, they are sent to an outfitter that installs special equipment, including gun racks and computers. Government-fleet.com is a media brand and digital resource for public sector fleet managers.

“The vehicles that we get have upgraded suspension and drive parts to make it a pursuit-worthy vehicle as well,” Pennala said.

As explained by government-fleet, PPVs are equipped with a unique suspension tuning with dampers and springs that have been calibrated with specific spring rates and loads.

In addition, government-fleet reports, PPV electrical systems must be able to handle daily police operations, which can become more crucial in rural regions.

Pennala said in addition to having an upgraded alternator, PPVs are also equipped with two batteries, where private vehicles have just one.

“We have an electric chainsaw that we have available to carry in the car, so there’s a lot of equipment that we end up carrying that we may or may not be law enforcement-related.”

In rural communities, heavy-duty vehicles are preferred over sedans typically used in more urban communities, particularly if the PPV is also used in First Response calls. As a First Responder vehicle, Pennala said one with a large capacity is important. “With the First Responder program, we also carry a lot of gear,” he said. “Just being a rural county, we have have to carry axes and chainsaws, just to open a roadway in an emergency.”

A Tahoe has space available that a sedan does not, said Pennala. Because Keweenaw County is on the U.S. border, county vehicles are not used in Border Patrol activities, Pennala said. Those activities are funded through Operation Stonegarden.

Operation Stonegarden is a federal grant program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is a component of the DHS, as part of the State Homeland Security Grant Program. Operation Stonegarden provides eligible law enforcement agencies with funding to enhance their capabilities to support joint efforts to secure the borders of the United States. Funds are to be used for additional law enforcement personnel, overtime pay, general purpose equipment, and travel and lodging for the deployment of state and local personnel – among other applicable activities – to improve overall border security.

“The cars that the taxpayers are paying their property taxes to maintain – those vehicles typically don’t get used on overtime shifts or for Stonegarden shifts,” Pennala said.