Following an accident that pinned police officer Amanda Scott between her patrol car and another vehicle in 2004, the El Dorado Police Department takes the safety of its officers seriously.

Scott is fine now, but the department is instituting a number of measures to try to avoid more situations like that. One of those measures is the purchase and installation of the Rumbler siren system.

With a pair of powerful sub-woofers mounted just behind the headlights, the  Rumblers cooperate with the siren system, giving inattentive motorists a jolt that’s difficult to ignore – even above cell phones and cranked-up stereos.

When an officer activates the siren and lights, a quick jab to the car horn will initiate the Rumbler’s penetrating deep vibrations for about 15 seconds.

The Rumbler — designed by a company called Federal Signal — won’t be used for routine traffic stops, but rather to clear crowded streets and intersections when an officer is responding to an emergency call.

At about $550 a pop, only two of the department’s 14 vehicles have been equipped with the Rumbler so far, but if they work out, the whole squad will eventually have them mounted as well. 

“It’s an officer safety issue – and a motoring public safety issue,” Capt. Dave Adams said. “If officers are approaching let’s say Main and Central at noon or five o’clock, it’s extremely busy. If we have an emergency call at the west end of town and we leave from here, we can hit [the Rumbler] and people will be able to hear that and feel it.”

Nationally, auto accidents are one of the leading killers of police officers. So far, there have been 17 officer deaths resulting from auto accidents in 2008, up by five from this time last year – a 42 percent increase.

“Every year, more police officers are killed in the line of duty because of motor vehicle accidents. People don’t always see the lights, they don’t always hear the siren,” Adams said. “Hopefully this will take care of that.”

“This is part of a concentrated effort we’ve been making for the last couple of years,” said Chief Tom Boren. “We’ve been looking at our vehicles and how we can make them more visible and protect the officers when they’re in the field.”

That effort includes the starker, more police-like black-and-white paint jobs, reflective bumper striping, mandatory reflective vests for traffic stops and flashing lights mounted inside the vehicles’ trunks.

The trunk lights are designed to help keep officers visible when helping stranded motorists at night. When the trunks are open, the lights atop the car are obstructed to cars coming from behind, so the flashing trunk lights on the inside of the lids keep them glowing.

The fluorescent-colored vests have a five-point tear-away function that prevent them from endangering an officer if they get snagged on a passing vehicle or other items.
Along with the hardware updates, Boren said he plans to keep training his officers on safety, too.

“It’s just more ways to prepare, not only with the equipment, but also to make sure we’ve got the right mindset,” Boren said. “We just want to do everything we can to make it safe.”