Before the conversion

The new year will bring the retirement of La Mesa police chief Ed Aceves as well as the 1995 Frito-Lay delivery truck purchased in 2002 and converted into a mobile command vehicle.

Ed Aceves

Converted Doritos van

Lt. Chad Bell inside the old van

Conceptual illustration of new "ProMaster" van

Twelve years ago, Aceves was a lieutenant charged with finding a vehicle to replace the Ford Explorer then used as a mobile unit, lieutenant Chad Bell said in a November 24 interview.

Bell, the traffic-division commander, coordinated the search to replace the vehicle known as the "Dorito van," a Chevy cargo van with more than 200,000 miles on it when the city acquired it. His search led to the 2015 Dodge RAM ProMaster van, which will cost $110,000 to purchase and outfit for police use.

The city council on October 28 unanimously approved the purchase that will be paid for with money from the asset seizure fund and general-fund reserves, consisting of Assembly Bill 109 (public safety realignment) funds. Prior to the vote, Aceves and Bell spoke.

"As you know, our motto is 'Do more with less,' " said Aceves. "I was assigned to get a mobile command vehicle with no funds attached to it. We found a used Dorito van" and equipped it. "It was done with all communality donations."

While the department got "great good use" from the vehicle, a new one was necessary due to advances in technology and equipment, said Aceves, who announced his retirement in October. (No date was set for when he retires in 2015, administrative coordinator Theresa Keooudom said on November 25.)

At the meeting, vice mayor Ruth Sterling asked what would be transferred from the current vehicle to the new one. "Chip racks for the officers," Bell quipped before naming the equipment.

During the interview, Bell said transferred equipment will consist "of radios, recording devices for the cameras, and electrical equipment to power the new equipment."

He said the mobile vehicle is used for police work such as DUI checkpoints, special response team (SWAT) incidents, homicides, fires, and community events like Oktoberfest.

Bell showed me a binder that detailed the history of the diesel-powered delivery truck that cost $46,450 to buy and convert. It was purchased for $2000. Other expenses included $3500 for paint and body work paid for by EDCO Disposal, according to the donor list. The largest contribution of $26,000 came from the La Mesa Thrift Shop.

Other donations included $5000 from Bob Stall Chevrolet, $950 from North Island Federal Credit Union, an HP Office Jet D135 printer from Office Depot, six Streamlights flashlights from Ace Uniforms, and an AT&T dual cordless phone from Circuit City.

Pictures in the binder include the white truck with a large picture of an open bag of nacho-cheese-flavored Doritos on the side. The now black-and-white vehicle will be replaced by the gas-powered ProMaster, a vehicle Bell said is "easier to maneuver. It's more streamlined and easier to get into smaller places."

He described a hypothetical crime to explain how the vehicle will be used. Police chase a suspect; pursuit includes a helicopter. The suspect flees into a house on El Cajon Boulevard, and the command vehicle is parked several blocks away. The Downlink system sends live images from the helicopter to the mobile vehicle and locations including the police station, emergency operations center, and police cars. Bell also hopes to get tablets for officers.

"Anything that helicopter views, we can view," he said.

The ProMaster will have a rooftop 360-degree camera that can be raised up to 20 feet. "We can zoom into the house windows" to look for the suspect, he said.

Bell said the ProMaster will probably arrive "by the end of December." It will go in for outfitting and could be in use by March. The first community event on the vehicle's schedule is the summer car show.

Bell said he wasn't sure what will happen to the Dorito truck.