"Municipal police agencies in the United States and here in Texas are going to all black and white, back to the old classic police cars," said HPD Chief Charles McClelland. "So we want to keep up with our industry standards and the public will become accustomed to know that black and white symbolizes municipal police."
The transition to the new look is expected to take a couple of years. It's being paid for by forfeiture assets, so no cost to taxpayers.
The department chose to switch color schemes now because it will also have to switch patrol car models. Starting next year, Ford will no longer make the Crown Victoria, so HPD is trying out possible replacements. Among the candidates are the Dodge Charger, the Chevy Caprice, the Chevy Tahoe and the Ford Interceptor.
