A city in Southern California has become the first in the US to replace its police patrol cars with electric vehicles, officials announced Monday, unveiling a fleet of 20 new Teslas.

South Pasadena on the edge of Los Angeles will replace its gas-guzzling police cruisers with the Teslas to help protect public health and fight climate change through reducing emissions. The Teslas will use new electric vehicle chargers installed at City Hall, officials said.

AP News reported that police vehicles typically idle more than other vehicles when officers make traffic stops or respond to emergency calls, which greatly adds to emissions, said Michael Cacciotti, a city councilmember and regional air quality official.

“This is important, particularly in the Los Angeles area, which still has the most unhealthful air in the nation,” Cacciotti said. “We hope other police departments in the region and state will make the switch, too.”

Other cities have some electric vehicles in their fleets but this is the first to entirely go electric, officials said. The police department in nearby Anaheim introduced six Teslas to its patrol fleet through a pilot program earlier this year.

The police department will have 10 Tesla Model Ys as patrol vehicles and 10 Tesla Model 3s for detective and administrative duties, both customized for police use. The city’s net cost is $1.85 million, with more than half the total cost covered by energy providers Southern California Edison, the Clean Power Alliance, and the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee.

“We will have a 21st Century police force that is safe, clean and saves taxpayer dollars,” South Pasadena Mayor Evelyn Zneimer stated in a news release.

(Pic – South Pasadena PD)