Dodge Charger Pursuit Police Cruisers Repurpose Rear Parking Radar, Cameras To Cover A Cop's Back In An Ambush

Our men and women in blue have one of the toughest and oftentimes thankless jobs in the world. It is a dangerous world out there and while police officers have taken on the mission of serving and protecting the public, they have to watch their own behinds as well. To help with that, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has teamed up with InterMotive Inc. of Auburn, California to equip 2017 Dodge Charger Pursuit law enforcement vehicles with rear-facing cameras and radars.

2017 Dodge Charger Pursuit

These specially equipped cameras and radars can detect movement behind the vehicle, essentially giving police officers eyes in the back of their heads.

"This technology is designed to prevent an officer from being ambushed from the rear while parked," said Jeff Kommor, Vice President – U.S. Sales Operations, Fleet and Small Business Sales. "While it does not replace vigilance, this technology acts as a second set of eyes and provides police officers with added peace of mind when they are in a parked Charger Pursuit."

2017 Dodge Charger Pursuit Interior

InterMotive is providing its technology to law enforcement at no cost. Like many of us, InterMotive is taken aback by the increase in ambushes on police officers over the last year. As a result, the company said it has seen a jump in the number of agencies requesting its detection technology, which it has bundled up into an Officer Protection Package.

This consists of a module that is plugged into the Charger Pursuit OBDII port under the dash. It's the same port that mechanics tap into when extracting codes for the dreaded Check Engine light that indicates there's a problem. In this case, the module uses the Charger Pursuit's ParkSense rear park assist system and ParkView rear backup camera to alert an officer is anyone is behind the car. This in turn triggers several safety measures, such as locking all doors, rolling up the windows, and flashing the tail lights. Meanwhile, the officer can see what's going on behind the vehicle by looking at the camera display.

The Officer Protection Package is available immediately on all U.S. 2017 Charger Pursuit orders.