Sandy Springs will donate its police K-9 vehicle to a Georgia town in need of such transportation.
The Sandy Springs Police Department is donating a 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe to the city of Ashburn. The city of about 4,000 residents is located in Turner County, south of Macon. Ashburn police have a police dog but no vehicle equipped with a kennel to transport him, Sandy Springs Police Chief Ken DeSimone said.
According to the chief, the dog usually stays at the Ashburn precinct until needed and that delays some police operations.
During a City Council meeting Tuesday, DeSimone said that when Sandy Springs vehicles become outdated the cost of removing emergency equipment such as sirens and lights, screens, kennels and gun lockers can be more than the selling price.
The Chevrolet Tahoe has been driven 136,000 miles. It has an estimated auction value of $2,200. The cost to remove and dispose of the K-9 equipment is $1,600, a statement said.
“It’s cheaper to give it to them and strip the Sandy Springs (police department name) off of it,” DeSimone said Tuesday.
The Ashburn police K-9 unit occasionally trains with Sandy Springs officers.
“Creating safer communities is not limited by geographic boundaries,” DeSimone said. “We work in collaboration with agencies across the state.”
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