Trading Places: Ohio Sheriffs Swap a Hovercraft for a Cruiser

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Lorain County Sheriff's Office traded a 2021 Ford Explorer to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office in exchange for a 2012 hovercraft and trailer.
With only eight deputies and a failing fleet, the Morgan County rural agency urgently needed a reliable cruiser, and the hovercraft was offered as an incentive.
The Lorain County Sheriff's Office plans to use the hovercraft for winter and water-based rescue operations, especially useful for hard-to-reach areas, such as Lake Erie and frozen ponds.

ELYRIA, OH — The Lorain County Commissioners unanimously approved an unusual vehicle exchange agreement with the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office – trading a 2021 Ford Explorer police vehicle for a 2012 hovercraft and trailer.

Lorain County Sheriff Hall told commissioners Friday that the trade was prompted by an urgent request from Sheriff James Fisher of Morgan County, which is located in southeastern Ohio. Operating with only eight deputies for a population of 15,000, Fischer’s office typically operates with hand-me-down cruisers from other sheriff’s offices — vehicles that Sheriff Fischer described as “too dangerous for the other departments to drive,” according to Hall.

The situation reached a breaking point recently when half of Morgan County’s four-vehicle fleet failed within two weeks. This includes a 2011 Dodge Charger with 210,000 miles that required repairs too expensive to fix. Hall told the commissioners that Fisher reached out to sheriffs statewide for assistance --- offering a hovercraft and a trailer as an additional incentive for any department willing to help.

A hovercraft is an amphibious vehicle that can travel over land, water, mud, ice or any relatively smooth surface by riding on a cushion of air. It works by using large fans to force air underneath the vehicle, which is contained by a flexible skirt, allowing it to hover slightly above the ground or water. This makes it ideal for rescue missions in areas that are hard to reach by traditional vehicles — like frozen lakes, marshes or flood zones — because it can glide over obstacles that would stop a boat or truck.

Lorain County saw opportunity in the unusual proposition and consulted with the Emergency Management Agency and fire department personnel, according to Hall. They all recognized the hovercraft’s potential value for winter rescue operations on ponds and Lake Erie, as well as search missions involving people with disabilities who might wander near water.

“Both vehicles — the trailer, the hovercraft and our 2021 police cruiser — are all valued about the same monetarily,” Hall said during the meeting. “So, we figured not only was it a fair trade, but it’s also helping a county that does not have a budget like ours and can’t even afford to buy more than one new car every few years.”

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