When you look at the Clinton, CT Police Department’s vehicle fleet it is easily noticed that every vehicle is essentially outfitted almost exactly the same.
Standardization of patrol vehicles is not uncommon when outfitting a fleet, but this is not always the case when it comes time to outfit a new K-9 vehicle.
Corporal Jason Frey and his partner K-9 Sonny have been partnered for three years and were about to outfit their third K-9 vehicle. A 2018 Ford Explorer was selected to be their newly assigned vehicle, but their vehicle required special outfitting to meet the needs of the agency. If you asked Corporal Frey what the biggest obstacle was with his previous vehicles he would quickly tell you “storage”.
Not only is Corporal Frey the department’s K-9 Handler, which requires him to carry a significant amount of specialized K-9 equipment, but he is also the Clinton Police Department’s Senior Firearms Instructor, which adds a whole separate level of complexity for carrying specialized equipment.
The Clinton Police Department did a lot of research into storage solutions for the rear of the vehicle but noticed that all of the pre-manufactured storage solutions simply were not going to meet the needs of both assignments.
Ryan Dodd with 1st In Emergency Products offered the solution to their problem; with the idea of a custom storage box designed specifically with Corporal Frey in mind. Using their state of the art software Ryan created a 3D rendering of what would become the storage solution the Clinton Police Department selected. Ryan’s design included two full-depth draws, one that could neatly contain all of Corporal Frey’s K-9 equipment and a second full-depth draw to handle all of his firearm needs.
Ryan equipped the K-9 draw with adjustable dividers to maximize the use of the draw, while also adding a locking option to the second draw to secure any weapons or ammunition that Corporal Frey may be transporting. Added features to the cabinet included a custom lip around the top of the storage cabinet to secure any equipment placed on top of the cabinet from falling off while the vehicle is in motion and heavy duty ball bearing slides on each draw.
1st In Emergency Products installation of the storage cabinet at their New Jersey facility was quick and effortless and the storage solution met every need for Corporal Frey’s assignments.
