Three squad cars devastated in Hiawatha police chase

A Waterloo man now faces a total of ten charges following a chase Saturday in Hiawatha. But the biggest economic impact of that pursuit is likely to fall on the two departments that lost three police squad cars during the chase.

Bobby Wolf, 31, of Waterloo faces a variety of charges in connection with the incident. He was charged with three counts of assault on a peace officer causing injury, attempting to elude, second-degree theft and five other related charges.

Authorities said Wolf deliberately rammed three police cars in refusing to stop. He was eventually forced into a ditch on Miller Road. Two officers suffered minor injuries and were treated and released Saturday. But the damage bill for the police cars could top $30,000.

Hiawatha Police Chief Dennis Marks said that few minutes of pursuit Saturday actually put one third of Hiawatha's marked cars out of service. One of the vehicles is repairable, at an estimated cost of around $5,500. But the other one, just a year old, has a bent frame and the department might have to write it off.

Marks said a new squad car goes for about $23,000. But there are others costs for Hiawatha down the road.

“It adds more mileage and time to our remaining fleet,” Marks said. "In the long run, that's going to add up. It might force us to get rid of a (patrol) car sooner than our schedule.”

Marks said each Hiawatha patrol car averages about 2,000 miles of driving each month. Going from a fleet of six to just four marked vehicles will mean more wear and tear on the remaining vehicles and less time for routine maintenance.

The repairable vehicle could return in just two or three weeks. But the lead time to get a brand new patrol car is a lot longer, due to the need to install special police equipment, as well as a wait for delivery.

“It will be up to two months before we get the actual car, and then we'll have to have it equipped. We're talking about three months without the use of one of the marked patrol cars,” Marks said.

The loss of one of just three police cars in Robins also means a one-third reduction in available police vehicles in that Linn County community. But police there said the damage wasn't as severe -- perhaps just $3,000 to $4,000. And with only part-time officers on the force, Robins can get by on one less patrol car without as much disruption.