IT'S NO MIRAGE: A POLICE LOW-RIDER CONVERTED CRUISER USED TO REACH YOUNGER
GENERATION, RECRUIT COPS

Low-riders Aren't Usually Associated With Cops.

The low-slung vehicles that ride barely above the pavement on tires
laughably small were conceived first by pachucos, Mexican-American
hipsters, a half-century ago as a form of defiant self-expression.

So why then is the El Mirage Police Department converting an old police
cruiser into a low-rider, complete with a shiny, pearl-white paint job,
bone-rattling stereo system and enough hydraulic muscle to make the car hop
30 inches off the ground?

To connect with a new generation of young hipsters who cruise the roads in
low-riders, or wish they did.

"This is a great way to get these kids to come to talk to us," said Richard
Yost, police chief in El Mirage, a fast-growing suburb west of Phoenix with
a predominantly Latino population.

Converting old police cars into low-riders is turning into a national
phenomenon. Police agencies in nearly a dozen cities, including Oakland,
Dallas and Kansas City, already are using low-riders as a tool to reach out
to teenagers, open the door to anti-drug and anti-gang programs and for
police recruitment.

Now, the trend appears to be catching on in Arizona.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced in March that he intends to
add a low-rider police car to his arsenal of public relations toys, which
already includes a tank equipped with a 155mm howitzer cannon.

But in the race to become the first police agency in Arizona to convert a
police car into a low-rider, El Mirage is winning.

Its low-rider police car, a 1991 Chevy Caprice, should be ready in time for
a custom car show at Gentry Park in El Mirage on July 29, Yost said.

Yost was skeptical when a group of low-rider lovers from neighboring
Avondale asked him to consider creating a police low-rider until he
realized the car's huge appeal among young people, not only Latinos.

"If this low-rider will save one kid from getting involved in drugs, guns
or violence, then I'm all for it," Yost said.

Some people associate low-riders with gangs and drug dealers, El Mirage
Officer Amelia Armenta said. But their popularity also can be a powerful
tool, she added.

"Some people that we talked to said, "A low-rider, are you nuts?" said
Armenta, the department's community relations officer. "They see it as
being related to gangs and all that stuff. We see it as a positive."

Armenta plans to take the car to parades and special events all over the
Valley, not just El Mirage. But the car never will be used for patrol, she
said.

Armenta estimated the cost of converting the police cruiser into a
low-rider at $15,000 to $20,000. The conversion won't cost taxpayers any
money because the labor and equipment are being donated by local
businesses, Yost said.

The former patrol car was retired from police duty several years ago. After
being used for several years by city officials for business errands, the
car was headed for auction with 120,000 miles on the odometer. Then, Yost
decided it could be saved.

Dan Campbell hopes the low-rider will help change negative perceptions
about the police among young people. The automobile repair shop he owns in
El Mirage, Newton's Automotive Services, is doing most of the work to
convert the police car.

"Maybe they will see the police (are) not against them," Campbell said.
"Maybe they will see the Police Department is with them."

The Sheriff's Office plans to convert a donated 1984 Chevy Monte Carlo into
a low-rider that will be used as part of the agency's DARE program, an
anti-drug abuse program aimed at schoolchildren. The car won't be ready for
several months, Deputy Richard Bricklin said. The Sheriff's Office also is
searching for a donated Chevy Caprice to convert into a police low-rider,
he said.

Reach the reporter at Daniel.Gonzalez@ArizonaRepublic.com (602) 444-8312.