CHP’s stealthy new SUVs are coming after reckless California drivers
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They’re coming for you, California. And you aren’t gonna see them coming.
They’re the California Highway Patrol and they’re riding in spiffy new SUVs that don’t look like your daddy’s cop car.
The CHP deployed 100 new Dodge Durangos a little more than three months ago. They’re designed to escape easy detection. Gone is authoritarian black-and-white; replaced by a dreamy, civilian-style color palette. The SUVs also aren’t outfitted like standard patrol cars. There’s no push bumper, no giant antenna and no light bar mounted on the roof.
The highway patrol announced in early May that officers would begin cruising in the specially marked patrol vehicles “to crack down on what can only be described as ‘video game-style’ driving on our highways.” For good reason, more than a third of all traffic fatalities in California are speed-related, according to a 2023 UC Berkeley study.
We all know what the CHP is talking about. These are the drivers who cut in and out of lanes like they’re gunning for the pole position at Laguna Seca. They speed. They seem to delight in riding other people’s bumpers. But the long arm of the law just got stealthier, enabling CHPers to “observe the most reckless and dangerous behaviors without immediate detection.”
It never feels like it, when you’re the one sweating, as the citation pad comes out, but the CHP insists: “Our goal remains the same: reduce injuries, prevent fatalities, and restore a sense of safety on California’s roadways.”
When I rode along with a couple of CHP officers last week, the low-profile approach seemed like a winner. Or a loser, if you are prone to applying mascara while changing lanes or reading text messages while rocketing down the diamond lane.
Since Californians live long chapters of their lives on the road, the CHP’s new tactic hasn’t gone unnoticed. “When I’m in public, it’s one of the number one questions right now,” said Officer Katherine Hendry. “People want to know, how many of these cars do you have? And what colors should I be looking for?”
Answer: Vapor Gray, Destroyer Gray, Triple Nickel, Red Oxide and Night Moves. That is carmaker Dodge-speak. Triple Nickel is another shade of gray. Night Moves is a very deep blue. And Red Oxide, the color Hendry drove, is a plummy red.
In not much more than an hour, Hendry and Officer Luis Quintero filled me in on the sub-rosa SUVs, while our Red Oxide-colored ride sneaked up on half a dozen unsuspecting drivers, all of them doing at least 80 mph.
Most got verbal warnings, but not the 30-something tearing down the 2 Freeway in Eagle Rock toward Interstate 5. Wearing scrubs, the young woman explained that she was late for work, again. She feared she would lose her job. Hendry had to gun the Durango to 103 mph to catch up. At that speed, you don’t get off with a warning.
Hendry and Quintero have heard all the excuses: I needed a bathroom break, bad. I missed my coffee stop. I was only shaving (face fully engulfed in white lather) when traffic slowed. One 20-year-old doing 100-mph-plus in Diamond Bar once told Quintero that he was speeding to be with his lady as she delivered their baby. The officer asked the suspect if he would voluntarily hand over his phone, where Quintero quickly found the suspect’s last text: “Just tell him you’re having a baby.” Holy evaporating alibi!
Genuine contrition seems like a better response. That was the approach taken by Susan, a middle-aged woman caught speeding up the 210 by the SUV I rode in. Susan was a bit teary-eyed as she admitted to speeding. Hendry’s computer check showed no offenses on her record for many years.
Susan conceded she never noticed the rusty Red Oxide SUV until it flashed its emergency lights. Yes, she said, the CHP seems to be onto something.
“You don’t want to be too obvious if you’re them, do you?” said Susan, who declined to give her last name. “I know people probably don’t love it if they’re real speeders. But people are getting away with too much.”
Today’s top stories
What to expect from SoCal’s worst heat wave this year
- The prolonged, dangerous heat wave is expected to begin broiling much of Southern California on Wednesday, peaking Thursday and Friday.
- The dangerously hot temperatures are only one of three major concerns.
- Extreme heat will build across the Southwest on Wednesday and is expected to bring near-record temperatures to Southern California through the weekend, creating major fire and health concerns.
- Those threats will be compounded by the possibility of monsoonal thunderstorms that could bring localized flooding, debris flows, destructive winds and lightning beginning Friday.
An L.A. County tribe wins its land back for the first time
- For the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians based in Los Angeles and Orange counties, a piece of their ancestral territory belongs to them for the first time in centuries.
- The lot hosts offices, a kitchen and a community space, as well as an outdoor patio and green space.
- Now, under the ownership of the tribe, the space will host cultural ceremonies, government meetings, programming for tribal youth and a community food bank.
Will the Menendez brothers finally be set free?
- More than 35 years after murdering their parents, brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez are the closest to freedom since they were sentenced to life in prison.
- A Los Angeles County judge agreed to resentence them earlier this year over the objections of L.A.’s top prosecutor.
- But this doesn’t mean the parole process will be smooth sailing.
What else is going on
- An L.A. student seized by immigration agents alleges they bragged of a $1,500 arrest payment.
- A South Lake Tahoe resident has tested positive for the plague — yes, the same pest-transmitted disease estimated to have killed 25 million Europeans in the Middle Ages.
- The mother of a missing 7-month-old refused a polygraph test but is cooperating, her lawyer says.
- An ultra-luxurious Santa Monica hotel is accused of failing to pay its staff minimum wage.
- Metro bus ridership continues to dip. Are fears over ICE raids partly to blame?
- A deadly crash and Musk’s exaggerations: Here’s a look at two lawsuits over Tesla’s self-driving tech.
Commentary and opinions
- A power grab may energize Newsom and Democrats, writes columnist Mark Z. Barabak. But it won’t fix their bigger problem.
- Say farewell to the AI bubble, and get ready for the crash, argues columnist Michael Hiltzik.
- Black people on campuses support fighting antisemitism and also wonder, “What about us?” writes guest contributor Shaun Harper.
- Guest contributor Joshua Seawell says there’s finally a smart solution for downtown L.A.’s empty skyscrapers.
This morning’s must-reads
We ranked the 25 best and worst freeways in Southern California, based on traffic, accidents and much more. See the worst roads in Los Angeles.
Other must-reads
- Trump’s anti-immigrant policies are even driving U.S. citizens away.
- In the wake of ICE raids in L.A., artists band together for immigrants.
For your downtime
Going out
- Dining: 24 of the best bars and coffee shops in the San Fernando Valley.
- Theater: Pirates in Long Beach? Go swashbuckling at this campy, interactive show aboard a tall ship.
- Sport championships: The 2026 Esports World Finals is coming to Los Angeles and El Segundo.
Staying in
- Documentaries: “The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox,” an eight-part docudrama premiering on Hulu today, dramatizes the events around a case that drew a media spectacle.
- Recipes: Here’s a recipe for Thai pork jerky pasta salad.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.
A question for you: What are your favorite places to eat and drink in the San Fernando Valley?
Karen Kungie-Torres writes, “It’s gotta be DogHaus. My son had a religious experience trying the Holiday Aoli burger, and now it’s his go-to order. For me, it’s the Sooo-Cali Dog, which feels a little healthier due to a healthy dose of arugula on top.”
Jocelyn Harrison writes, “H.O.P.E. cafe in Studio City.”
Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally ... your photo of the day
Today’s great photo is from Times photographer Christina House at an East Los Angeles event hall where immigrants were reunited with their families after being separated by a border for decades.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Izzy Nunes, audience intern
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.
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