The Marietta Police Department is helping the environment and saving on fuel costs by testing two electric scooters for patrol officers as an alternative to gas-powered patrol cars.

The electric vehicles run for twelve hours on a single battery charge. The vehicle's platform is raised nine inches to increase an officer's visibility, and the open air design allows officers to be more accessible to the public.

"Although we do not expect the T3s will completely replace any police car, we hope to supplant the running time of police cars in blocks of hours or for entire shifts," Marietta Police Chief Dan Flynn said.

The police department bought the electric scooters using funds seized from drug dealers. 

The Marietta Police Department will use the T3 to patrol densely populated areas such as apartment complexes. They will also be used at the city's Independence Day celebration to maneuver among the large crowd and along the parade route, as well as other large crowd situations.  

For more information, call the Marietta Police Department at 770-794-5300.