By Mike Simmons

Throughout history, there have consistently been a few tools that law enforcement officers have needed. One of those tools is transportation. Over the years, that has been accomplished by walking a beat, riding horses, buggies, motorcycles, bicycles and cars. The Pensacola Police Department was no exception.

In the 1930s, police departments began the practice of putting lights on the outside of their cars and marking them as police vehicles. After World War II departments began experimenting with the single rotating beacon, widely known as the gumball machine. Using blue lights slowly began to catch on as well, the practice taken from Germany in the 1940s. These 1956 Fords were the last PPD vehicles to not have the rotating beacon.

This is a photo of the same 1958 Fairlanes as on the previous page. They have been fitted out with all emergency equipment and are used as a backdrop for a uniform and vehicle inspection. Assistant Chief George White and Captain Raymond Harper are among those conducting the inspection.

The cars are the first PPD police cars equipped with a rotating beacon, or bubble gum machine. As is also visible, these vehicles contained no lockup facility in the back seat.

The lights on top gave name to “Bubble Gum Machine” for their shape. Interesting—the spotlights have changed little over the years!

At that time, officers shared cruisers. As soon as one officer finished his shift, the vehicle was turned over to another officer on the next shift. Consequently, they were driven 24-7, which put a lot of miles on them. Because they were rode hard and without rest, they didn’t last very long. When a car was a year or two old, it began to show serious signs of wear.

In 1976, in recognition of the bicentennial celebration of the United States, The Pensacola Police Department adopted a unique paint scheme, shown above. The door shield remained the same, but the upper portion of the vehicle was painted specific blue color, mixed for the PPD cars. Then a red line below the blue, with white on the bottom.

In the 1990s, a new thing happened at the Police station. Studies had been done recently proving that instead of sharing “always driven” cars, an agency would actually save money by issuing each officer a car. The up-front cost was more, but the cost eventually dropped dramatically. It also provided better coverage and was a recruiting tool for new officers. So, as new cars were purchased, the older ones were issued out. The practice proved successful! Another advantage—officers took better care of their issued vehicles because they were responsible for them.In 1992, the body was changed, and the name changed to Crown Vic. The Crown Vic was the primary police car used by the Pensacola Police Department until it was replaced by the Tahoe. The Crown Vics were the offices of many officers for many years.

In the late 1990s, the paint scheme for cruisers was again changed. The door shield was done away with and a solid white vehicle with decals, a badge and large lettering was adopted.

In 2007, the department went retro. Across the nation, agencies were beginning to discover that the old look—black and white police cars, stood out and was unique to law enforcement. It was also relatively inexpensive. The absence of colors in the paint scheme and the decals saved money, and saving money is important in city budgets. So, the Pensacola Police followed suit. All new Crown Vics were outfitted with the new paint scheme and a new, bold black “Police” decal for the doors. Another trend had gained popularity by this time. More and more decals were placed on cruisers over the past several years. In addition to the traditional decals such as “Police,” the vehicle number and a door shield, Emergency numbers (911), the officer’s radio number, and often a logo such as “To Serve and Protect” were being placed on cruisers across the nation. Some agencies included their web address and some even posted the names of persons or companies who donated the vehicles. It also became common to tint the windows of cruisers.

The End of an Era

In 2014, something happened that changed the police “look” across the nation. Old Reliable, the Crown Vic, was retired. Now, not every agency used the Crown Vic, but most did. When citizens thought about a police car, they usually thought about a Crown Vic.

While the Pensacola Police Department had always kept an open mind about potential directions for cruisers, it now had to make a choice. The result was new, innovative, and…different. Tahoes. For the first time, the department’s primary vehicle changed. The last time a change this drastic took place in Pensacola Police transportation was in 1914, when they got off their horses and into automobiles. Now, instead of “cars,” they would be driving SUVs. Wow!

Soon, however, officers not only came to accept the new vehicles, but they loved them! More room, see better, easy to enter and exit. Yes, the right move had been made.