July 16, 2026
By Jonathan Rich
BrevardBeagle.com
The Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office recently received five new Chevrolet Tahoe sports utility vehicles for its fleet of law enforcement vehicles.
While the new cruisers were actually added as part of last year’s budget, the officers are now riding in these new vehicles that give deputies and investigators more on-the-job public safety options than ever before.
BrevardBeagle.com asked Sheriff Chuck Owenby to explain why this was an important investment to make for the people Transylvania County law enforcement officials protect and serve daily.
Why was this particular make and model chosen for the fleet?
These are more dependable vehicles than the Explorer, Durango, or Charger. They are 4-wheel-drive, pursuit-rated vehicles and safer for our deputies. We have also had maintenance issues with the Fords and Dodges, and no issues with the Tahoes.
Law enforcement vehicles experience more wear and tear than the average passenger car or truck. How many vehicles are currently in your fleet and when are the next ones expected to reach rotation out of service?
85 vehicles in total: 50 marked units, seven special service vehicles, 27 unmarked and two volunteer cars. The out-of-service rotation depends on the condition of the vehicle and the cost of maintenance, as well as years and mileage. We have vehicles here that are 10+ years old that still work for us and when we deadline a vehicle it is sold at auction.
What particular features do these new vehicles have that set them apart from previous law enforcement vehicles in the fleet? What features would you like to see approved in the next county vehicle purchase?
These Tahoes are safer vehicles for our staff and have been more reliable than vehicles in the past. The four-wheel-drive aspect allows us to get to places that we were not able to get as well and is better in adverse conditions such as snow and ice.
Transylvania County Manager Jaime Laughter clarified these particular new vehicles were purchased at Capital Chevrolet in Raleigh on the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association’s contract to get the best price for the taxpayers and how selling the older used law enforcement vehicles adds additional savings locally.
“We are able to use state contract pricing, but also the NC Sheriffs Association has a group pricing program as well,” Laughter explained. “We always compare between them to get the best price on vehicle purchases and the sheriff picks vehicles that meet their needs.”
“For the Sheriff’s Office, we make a priority to budget for five vehicles and equipment each year to keep their fleet reliable and to make sure they have what they need to be effective in their service to our community. When vehicles come out of the fleet and are no longer needed at the Sheriff’s office, we have to go through a state-dictated process of declaring them surplus. We remove all equipment and decals, and then we have the option to auction. We reinvest the sale proceeds back into the Sheriff’s Office fleet.”
