Dalton Police Department Wins New Ford Mustang Patrol Car at No Cost to Taxpayers

The Dalton Police Department (DPD) has added a new Ford Mustang police interceptor to its fleet, won without taxpayer expense. Last month, the DPD’s Traffic Enforcement Unit received the fully outfitted vehicle at the annual Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) Awards Banquet. The department took second place in its class in the GOHS Governor’s Challenge and, as a standout agency among more than 40 contenders, drew the winning key for the Mustang prize.

The Governor’s Challenge program honors law enforcement agencies for their efforts in reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities through highway safety enforcement and education. Agencies are evaluated on their approach to safety initiatives, community outreach, and public information efforts, as well as for specific problem-solving in traffic safety. DPD earned second place among departments with 46-75 sworn officers and won the GOHS Occupant Protection Award for its campaigns promoting seat belt and child safety seat use.

The highlight of the event was the Mustang win. Agencies with scores over 100 points in their Governor’s Challenge submissions qualified for a chance to win the vehicle. Dalton’s representative, Sergeant David Saylors, was among 10 officers called to pick a key from the stage, and his selection turned out to be the winning choice.

“Pretty much the only thing the department has to do is put insurance on it and add our agency lettering,” Saylors said. “We will lead the Veteran’s Day Parade with it this Saturday, which will really be the first public display of it. We’ve done a couple of community events with it, too, and we’ve had some wonderful conversations with the public about it—they’re enjoying it even more because it’s free.”

This is the second patrol vehicle the DPD’s Traffic Unit has won from GOHS, with the department also winning a Chevrolet Tahoe in 2020.