SPD Blue: New Patrol Cars Painted A Shade Too Light

There's something different about the new Seattle police cars.

Police Chief Norm Stamper noticed; city officials who ordered the new cars noticed; police officers noticed.

But the police department hopes the public won't notice or won't care.

When the 56-car fleet of 1999 Ford Crown Victorias rolled in last month, they were the wrong color. The cars are more baby blue than darker aqua - worthy of a double take when perched side by side.

Technically speaking, the current fleet of cars is painted "light-blue metallic," while the new cars are "light-blue metallic clear."

While the off-color cars have been sitting in an assortment of lots around Seattle since early March, the department decided yesterday that they'd accept the cars from a private dealer - wrong color and all, said Rodrick Brandon, director of contracting services for the city's Executive Services Department.

"It sounds like it was just miscommunication," Brandon said. "We thought we told them the right color. Or maybe they didn't hear it right."

Jack Owen, owner of The New Wilson Ford where the cars were ordered, agrees there was miscommunication, but said the problem may have been caused by the fact that nothing was ever written down by the Executive Services Department. When the car company called that department to ask for the color, it said it wanted light metallic blue. But for some reason, the cars were painted light metallic blue clear.

"Besides, it seems so foolish that they are so excited about the slight difference," Owen said this morning.

The fact that The New Wilson Ford would have been the ones to foot the repaint bill - about $100,000, Owen said - and the fact that Owen refused to repaint anyway had no bearing in the department's decision to accept the cars, said police spokeswoman Pam McCammon

"It's still recognizable as a police vehicle, so it's not a danger to the public," McCammon said. "It's just not worth it."

That's not to say the department didn't grapple with what to do with 56 pale patrol cars - about a quarter of its fleet.

Since the cars have been sitting in lots since March, awaiting the application of decals and a decision on what to do, the replacement of old or wrecked police cars was halted.

Thus far, about six cars are needed to replace old or wrecked ones, McCammon said.

"It's not like we're running into a deficit of cars here," McCammon said. "We don't have people walking around who are not in cars."