Police patrolling the mean streets of Irvine in fancy Tesla SUVs? Old-fashioned horse-drawn paddy wagons making a resurgence in Anaheim?
Nope, it was just fake news on April Fools’ Day, dished out Monday on social media by the normally straight-laced folks who serve as public information officials in some of Southern California’s police departments and other public agencies.
In Irvine, police jokingly said that traditional patrol cars would soon be replaced with a fleet of Tesla Model Y SUVs, in part because the Tesla’s standard pearl white paint scheme, low-profile lighting and a nearly silent engine would help officers “blend into the community and sneak up on criminals with ease.”
“A white Tesla? Perfect camouflage for Irvine,” was one resident’s reply on Facebook.
Police responded, asking residents to wish them luck with “finding our cars at Costco.”
In Anaheim, police announced a return to historical methods of policing with the rollout of officers, mounted on horses, transporting arrestees via paddy wagon.
“It saves on gas,” a woman replied.
Out in Riverside County, sheriff’s officials at the Moreno Valley Station announced that their captain had given his station the day off, asking residents in the meantime to “play nice, get along, commit no crime, stay healthy, and call us tomorrow if you need anything!”
One woman on Facebook jokingly responded to sheriff’s officials announcement that the ticket she had gotten that morning must have been from an imposter and that the ticket would be voided.
Even National Weather Service officials came out with an announcement on a new graphics map, an eye-sore inducing map that included the names of any and every city — big or small — across the Southern California region, making it practically impossible to decipher.
Thankfully, all these announcements were the product of public service officials jumping in on the Aprils Fools’ Day fun.
“We do this every year to engage with our community,” said Anaheim police Sgt. Jon McClintock. “Just our light-hearted way of doing some comedy about the job.”
While the social media posts were mostly for laughs, McClintock said that there always are a couple calls to their department asking if the announcements are true.
“One Aprils Fools’, we said that we would be introducing a police hot air balloon to our fleet, and there were few people calling and asking us when and where they could see it,” McClintock said.
This year, however, there was some truth to Anaheim’s announcement, with the department currently looking to implement a full-time mounted officer program.
“No, we are not bringing back paddy wagons,” he said. “Aside from these April Fools’ jokes, mounted officers are another great community engagement tool and something we are exploring.”