EUFAULA, OK – McIntosh County recently purchased four used police vehicles at $300 each to replace four damaged during a high-speed chase in May, according to the Florida-Times Union. Another $1,200 will need to be spent on making them street-ready, County Manager Luther Smart told the Times Union.

McIntosh County Public Safety Director Ray Parker went car shopping in May after the four cars were wrecked on I-95, and found the Savannah cars, plus four others in Gainesville, Fla. The Gainesville cars could arrive as early as next week, Smart said.

Even before the vehicles were wrecked, the Sheriff's Office was working with a reduced fleet of patrol cars. Sheriff Stephen Jessup said the department was already down several cars when he took office on Jan. 1 because former Sheriff Charles "Chunk" Jones sold 14 in the final weeks of his tenure.

Purchasing the used police cars is a stopgap measure, Smart said. He anticipates the $300 cars, which came from the Savannah-Chatham County police department, will be good for a couple of years' use.

Smart said he's also awaiting word on an application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture that would allow the county to purchase four new police cars with a low-interest loan and possibly a $50,000 grant, according to the Times Union.

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