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May 16, 2007 3:14 pm US/Eastern
NYPD To Fight Crime Via Segway
Ten Units To Be Deployed This Summer Around NYC
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ―
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The NYPD will now be fighting crime with a bit more speed thanks to the Segway.
Photo by Angela Jimenez/Getty Images
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Ten Segway transporters will be deployed around New York City.
Segway
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The LAPD have used Segways to patrol subway platforms for two years. (File photo)
Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
Now it's New York's Finest on two wheels.
The New York Police Department announced on Wednesday it will deploy 10 Segway transporters this summer in Central Park, Coney Island and other parks and beaches around the city.
The devices will give officers "a lot more range and a lot more mobility" on pathways and boardwalks, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said at a news conference where he was flanked by the new fleet.
More than two dozen officers have been trained to ride the battery-powered Segways, which cost $5,300 and reach a top speed of about 13 mph, Kelly said.
The department tested the transporters in 2003, but never put them into regular operation because of a recall, Kelly said. He said the battery-related problem has since been corrected.
At the same news conference, Kelly honored Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe and his wife, Charlotte, for helping thwart a purse snatching on May 12 near Riverside Park in Manhattan.
Benepe, though not on a Segway, managed to chase down and hold the thief until police arrived.
"I have to say my wife urged me to do it," he said.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
