It ’s easy to forget that a one C ago , gasoline - powered cars did n’t completely dominate the motorcar grocery . In 1900 , more or less 40 percentage of all cars sell in the U.S. weresteam - power . And in fact , when the Boston police force bought one of the country ’s first cop auto in 1903 it was scat on steam .
https://gizmodo.com/about-40-of-american-made-cars-in-1900-were-steam-powe-1597522738
The Boston PD ’s 1903 pig automobile was aStanley Steamer . But even though we might think of steam - powered vehicles as a joke today , these were n’t lightweights . They were known as some of the fastest cars around . The constabulary strength was quick to buy up more steam - power elevator car whenever they could .
From the March 15 , 1905 issue ofThe Horseless Age magazine :
The Boston Police Department , which has been making employment of automobile for some metre , has decided to add two eminent - speed [ steam - power ] runabouts , to be used on the parkways and boulevards of the city , in the early spring .
Some of the police section ’s steam - powered cars did n’t last very prospicient ( one Boston PD steam auto bought in 1905 live on just over 7,000 miles before being decommissioned ) but the cars could catch any speeders they were after . There was the bring benefit that the police force out was lease civilian chauffeur ( shown above in a 1903 exemplification ) who stayed with the vehicles when police officers needed to jump out and pursue a defendant .
Always on the hunting for the degenerate vehicles available , the Boston PD buy aRoss steam - powered vehiclein 1909 , made in nearby Newtonville , Massachusetts . From the 1910 Annual Report of the Boston Police Commissioner :
Automobile No . 2222 , a steam runabout , has been in service since June , 1905 . It was on duty 137 days , and covered a length of 7,672 miles in the West Roxbury district . This machine go bad out of military commission and was interchange on May 10 , 1909 , by a unexampled Ross steamer , No . 14567 .
The police saw their acquirement of cars as an equalizer , allowing them to catch law offender as cars were slowly becoming mainstream in the country . But the press choose wanton jabs at the purchase , pointing out that the police could very well abuse their new miniature . The March 9 , 1905 issuing ofThe Boston Daily Globe joked that if you wanted to break the speed limit , you ’d have to get together the police force :
Now that the police automobile pursuer are to have two new , knock-down steam automobile , obviously the only prophylactic for automobilists who want to be given quicker than the law allows will be to get on the power .
While Boston likes to lay call to the first constabulary motorcar , Akron , Ohio actually had a police force patrol automobile in 1899 , project below . But Akron ’s wagon was n’t steam - powered . It was electric .
image : Illustration of Boston ’s first police force motorcar in July 1903 viaBoston Police Department ; Akron ’s first police patrol wagon viaHistory of Akron
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