Police Get Segway Transporters

"12 miles an hour is pretty darn fast," says Mayor Tim Davlin. Thats the maximum speed of one of the new Segway transporters. Springfield police will soon have five Segways theyll use mostly when theyre working downtown. Deputy Chief Mike Geiger says, "Who wouldnt want to ride one? I mean as far as.. come to work and ride a segway downtown. I mean what could be better than that?" Police will use these in addition to squad cars and bikes. But dont be fooled; these Segways are equipped with sirens, lights and storage containers to make arrests. Police say these Segways will make them more visible, as they increase patrols downtown this summer. Dep. Chief Geiger says, "So not only do the people with good intent know that were out and patrolling the area.. but also those who might not have good intent know were out and about." Mayor Davlin says the Segways are paid for with seized drug money and cost about $7,500 each. Police say it takes about two days of training to learn how to drive a Segway. And the Segways have a locking device and an alarm they can activate if they have to leave the device for any reason.