KTLA-5 reported on the California’s Irvine Police Department (IPD) purchase of an over $150,000 Cybertruck for use at community events and as part of the department’s Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, also known as DARE. While the vehicle’s addition to the fleet is exciting for IPD, others, including CPE Director of Community Engagement Brittenay Causieestko-Lee, noted the lack of clear justification for the purchase
Brittenay Causieestko-Lee, director of community engagement for the nonprofit Center for Policing Equity, explained that budget transparency is a concern for many, and city officials may have to answer for expenditures like this.
“Spending $150,000 on such a high-performance vehicle for a program like DARE seems very excessive, especially for your taxpayers, especially when there’s cheaper alternatives as well,” she said. “And so a lot of that can cause tension, because many residents may feel that taxpayer money could be better spent on urgent community needs like education, housing or infrastructure.”
Read the full article on KTLA-5’s website.