Thousand Oaks : Auto Group Donates Vehicle to Police

The Thousand Oaks Police Department’s latest automotive acquisition might not be brand new, but it was free.

Thousand Oaks Auto Assn. members donated a 1993 Buick to the department after learning that the new community-based policing unit was sharing one car among six officers. To overcome the car shortage, members of the unit had been using their own cars while on duty.

The auto association will share the cost of the car--valued at more than $10,000--among its members.

“We just felt it would be a good idea for us to help them out,” said A. J. Patterson, general manager of Buick-GMC Truck of Thousand Oaks. “This is one of the safest cities in the country and that is not by accident. It’s because the Police Department is so good.”

The policing unit will use the unmarked car for lightweight surveillance, patrols and transporting citizen volunteers to special events. The new unit will work closely with neighborhood groups in crime prevention.