Strongsville Donates Police Car to Tiny Ohio Village

The Strongsville Police Department is donating a ride to a small Ohio police force that can't afford to buy a new one.

The 2010 Crown Victoria is no longer needed here -- it's already met its three-year life expectancy and has been taken out of service and replaced.

It's been determined to have no monetary value.

So the city is donating it to the Craig Beach Police Department in Lake Milton, Ohio, which is in desperate need of a cruiser, its chief, Richard Abbott, said.

"The Craig Beach Police Department is in desperate need of a donation of one of your police cruisers, as we are now down to just one with a small village of 1,600 residents," Abbott wrote in a letter to Strongsville. "Our other cruiser went down just the other day, and we are not in the financial position for a replacement."

The department patrols Lake Milton Park, where the volume of traffic is "tremendous," Abbott said, and having only one cruiser was posing "an extreme hardship" on the department and community.

Councilman at large Joe DeMio said Strongsville replaces its cruisers every three years and is happy to be able to help out another department.

"It's great that Strongsville can extend its security  . . . to other communities," DeMio said.

City Council unanimously agreed to donate the car.

"This donation is extremely thoughtful and appreciated, and we cannot fully express our gratitude," Abbott wrote.