What’s black and white and on patrol?

Police cars in the traditional color combination are back in fashion in many area cities

By Darlene Prois
Star Tribune

Cultural icons from Sheriff Andy Griffith of Mayberry to Detective Sgt. Joe Friday of "Dragnet" once drove black and whites, once the universal symbol of a cop car.

But after the tumultuous 1960s tarnished the public's perception of law enforcement, police began opting for softer images -- squads in shades of blue, white or green.

Now in Minnesota and across the nation, the vintage black and white is making a comeback.

"The blue cars kind of melted in with a lot of other cars on the road, but the black and white you don't mistake," said Winona Police Chief Frank Pomeroy, whose department just ordered four new black and whites. "You know what you're seeing."

From Anoka to Eden Prairie to Northfield, departments large and small have returned to the classic look.

Across the country, orders for black and white squads increased by 20 percent -- more than 6,000 vehicles -- in the past model year, said Whitney Drake, a spokeswoman for Ford Motor Co., the leading supplier of police vehicles.

Minnesota once outlawed the use of black on police cars, but the ban on black ended in 2002. Police aren't worried anymore about looking too tough.

"There's an element of pride," said Edina Police Chief Michael Siitari, whose department has used several color schemes in the 28 years he's been there. "This is the officer's office. They're all happy with how they look now, which I cannot say about the multicolor cars of the past. These are the best-looking cars we've had, hands down."

During black's banishment, police in the historic city of Anoka substituted navy blue.

"Anoka is a town that is strong in tradition, and the tradition is black and white," said Anoka Chief of Police Edward Wilberg. "There was a time when people thought ill of us and we tried to look less authoritarian. Now people like knowing there's a police car with a police officer in there who will take command of the situation and help me."

A universal symbol

Hopkins Police Chief Craig Reid believes the city's two-toned squads are far more identifiable than the all-white squads they've replaced. Instant recognition is important when policing a city where 37 languages are spoken, he said.

"There are a lot of companies that drive white cars," Reid said. "People may not be able to read the graphics on a single-tone car, but when they see the two-tone, they instantly know what it is."

While cops seem to overwhelmingly prefer the distinctive tones, not everyone agrees they're the best choice.

Dr. Stephen Solomon, an Owego, N.Y., optometrist who is a national expert on emergency vehicle safety, bemoans the increasing popularity of the two-tones. He thinks a single-tone light color, preferably light yellow, with significant use of retro-reflective fluorescent material, is far safer.

"It's a trade-off," Solomon said about the trend. "It may improve your public relations and visibility in the community, but once that car leaves the curb and pulls into traffic, it's no longer a safe car. Black and white are two colors that don't easily stand out from the background. It's not an improvement, it's a step back."

Many cops disagree.

"The biggest detriment to safe travel for police vehicles is not the color," said Blaine Police Chief Dave Johnson. "It's stereos, cell phones and electronic devices in passenger vehicles. The leading cause of accidents is driver distraction."

He thinks black and white has become the universal symbol for help.

"Who has a black and white vehicle other than the Geek Squad?" Johnson said. "But when a police car is operating as an emergency vehicle, it has its lights and sirens on. No one is mistaking us for the Geek Squad."