CHANDLER - City officials here have purchased three Chevrolet Tahoes as the Chandler Police Department phases out the use of its Ford Crown Victorias.

"We’ve been buying the Ford Crown Victorias, but a lot of the municipalities have gone to the Tahoes," city administrator Jim Moffeit said. "They are safer, the longevity is better, and they are built on a truck chassis.

"We think where we’ve been getting three years out of the Crown Vic, we’ll be able to get four or five years out of the Tahoe."

The 2010 trucks were bought from Holiday Chevrolet in the Dallas- Fort Worth area for $114,00.

"We actually leased them, and at the end of the lease they are ours. We’ve made the first year’s payment on them."

The all-black Tahoes give the Police Department an eight-car fleet. The other patrol units are a 2007 Crown Vic, a 2007 Ford F-150, a pair of 2006 Crown Vics, and a 2003 Ford Explorer.

"Normally, we wouldn’t keep that many cars," Moffeit said. "But we try to keep two cars in reserve. We have a two-person reserve force and eight full-time officers."

One of the Tahoes is a supervisor’s model equipped with features not available in the other two Chevys, Moffeit said.

Two units will be used during day and night patrols.