NYPD Officer Caught Doing Parking Lot Donuts During Massive East Coast Snowstorm
The Ford Explorer Police Interceptor does better slides than you’d think.
If you live in the Northeastern United States, it's no secret that there's a snowstorm going on right now. Plows are plowing, cars are crashing, but in some vacant lots—at least in New York City—the sliding being done is intentional. Apparently, it's important police business.
Instagram page @whatisnewyork
posted a video earlier today documenting at least one cop spinning around a vacant lot in their Ford Explorer Police Interceptor with another watching. The lot is completely empty besides the two squad cars, and you can tell by the tire tracks that the officers have been at it for a few minutes before the clip starts.
The video appears to have taken place last night, Jan. 31, as the snow began to fall in New York City. Not much else is known, like the location or the names of the officers involved. Needless to say, they are probably lucky that the video isn't high quality enough for any plate numbers to be discerned.
The truck seems to be doing surprisingly well rotating in the slippery conditions, despite it appearing to be one of the fifth-generation, front-wheel-drive-based versions of the Explorer Police Interceptor. The previous-generation interceptors can have as much as 365-horsepower from a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, which is plenty to spin the tires around in slippery conditions, but most of that power is typically sent to the front wheels in regular driving conditions. That being said, the AWD system can send all of the engine's torque to the rear wheels in some situations—like sliding around a snowy lot.
It would be easier to do big donuts in the latest Explorer Interceptors because those trucks are RWD-based and have as much as 400 hp. Maybe next time these cops decide to have some fun, they can bring one of those along to show the older cars how it's done.
Oh, and make sure you click one to the right on this Instagram post to see the clip.
The annoying part about this is, of course, if you or I were caught doing donuts in a snowy parking lot, we'd probably get a ticket. If they catch me doing sick reverse snow drifts in my Cobalt SS, I'll let them know I'll be conducting my own "internal investigation."
In a comment, a spokesperson for the NYPD told The Drive that "We are aware of the video and are looking into it," so it seems like there may actually be some consequences if it's possible to identify those involved. But whether you're a police officer or not, snow donuts are the sort of reckless fun that most people can appreciate. If your car is front-wheel-drive like mine, well, I'm afraid you're going to have to shift into reverse or get busy with the handbrake. Just make sure there's nothing around to hit. We've seen plenty of those videos.
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