Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) US LLC recently announced that all 2017 Dodge Charger Pursuit law enforcement vehicles will undergo a major technology upgrade. Wasting no time, these high-tech features will be implemented immediately. The upgrade will allow vehicles to detect movement occurring behind the police cruiser using rear-facing cameras and radar, ultimately increasing the police officer’s overall safety.
“This technology is designed to prevent an officer from being ambushed from the rear while parked,” says Jeff Kommor, FCA’s vice president of U.S. sales. “While it does not replace vigilance, this technology acts as a second set of eyes and provides police officers with added peace of mind when they are in a parked Charger Pursuit.”
This automotive upgrade is part of The Officer Protection Package Technology. According to the FCA, “The package uses the Charger Pursuit’s ParkSense rear park assist system and ParkView rear backup camera to alert an officer if anyone is behind the vehicle.”
When the system is turned on, reverse sensors become activated. If any sensors are subsequently tripped, a chime will alert the officer. The law enforcement official can then use the camera display to safely observe the scene. At the same time, the Charger Pursuit’s doors will be locked, the tail lights will flash, and the front windows will roll up.
The FCA US is collaborating with InterMotive Inc. in order to create this technology at no cost to U.S. law enforcement agencies. According to the FCA, InterMotive has noted increased requests for these upgrades due to the number of police officer ambushes over the last year. To address these concerns, this collaboration hopes to increase an officer’s situational awareness while in the field.
