SCRANTON, Pa. — Some people view being stopped by the police as a learning experience. However, on Friday, the Scranton Police Department's stop at the Career Technology Center of Lackawanna County offered a learning experience for future law enforcement.
"Being able to actually repurpose a vehicle that still works for use at the school where we can promote many of their programs here at the school. Hopefully, this is the first of many," said Scranton Police Chief Thomas Carroll.
The decommissioned Scranton Police cruiser will continue to serve as a training tool for students in the school's Protective Services program.
"Things with any type of education, we always understand that students work really well with hands-on," said Protective Services Instructor, Jonathan Coyne. "You do have a large majority of kids that work hands-on. So now, they actually have that tactic. They have that hands-on experience."
From practicing vehicle searches to conducting traffic stops, the vehicle will offer students a wide range of opportunities not available to them before.
"It's something very valuable to our program, considering we had to use our teacher's truck, and we didn't really have a police car to use, and we had to set up cones as like our car," said Senior Gavin Hegedus.
"I mean, we've all wanted this for so long, and just watching it all come true. It's, it's amazing," said Junior Madilyn Amorine when she saw the car for the first time.
She says the donation will help shape her and her classmates' careers as first responders as they continue their education after high school.
"Starting young is a really important part," said Amorine. "You can make up your mind easy. You start looking at colleges and all the other things. You can go right into the workforce."
The police car was able to be donated after the city invested thousands of dollars in upgrading several of the department's vehicles.