Sheriff's new cruisers on back order

NORWALK — Some Huron County Sheriff's Office cruisers are running on borrowed time — pushing more than 200,000 miles.The sheriff ordered four new cruisers early this year, and he's frustrated his agency still hasn't received them.In April, the Huron County Commissioners approved a resolution to allot $156,692 to buy four new 2020 Ford Explorers for deputies at the sheriff's office, Sheriff Todd Corbin said.A Cincinnati-area distributor, Lebanon Ford, won a state contract to handle orders for police cruisers from the sheriff's office and other state law enforcement agencies. The distributor originally told Corbin thenew cruisers would be ready in June, but then pushed it back to July, October and then November."It's been seven months since the resolution," he said. "That's a long time to be waiting for cruisers."But the issue isn't with Lebanon Ford, Corbin said. Rather, a Ford manufacturing plant in Chicago has been experiencing technical issues with the police cruiser-model Explorers, leaving the sheriff's office and other law enforcement agencies in limbo waiting for their new cars."All (Lebanon Ford) can do is wait for Ford to fulfill those orders," he said. "It puts me in a bad position when I have deputies who need those cars."Need for new cruisersCorbin said the sheriff's office works to maintain the older vehicles, but that can be costly and driving older vehicles is potentially unsafe."I'd feel a heck of a lot safer if we had the newer cruisers," he said. "We're doing the best with what we've got right now."Once the distributor gets his department's new cars, the vehicles will be sent to an outfitter that will install police equipment in the vehicle. He said the outfitter already has everything it needs to get the job done.Ford Explorers are a good fit for deputies, Corbin said, because they operate in a rural county and handle inclement weather well.Visit our Huron County Sheriff's Office hub for more storiesReach reporter Brandon Addeo at brandonaddeo@sanduskyregister.com, follow him on Twitter @BrandonAddeo and follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterHuron County Sheriff Todd Corbin