FERRIDAY &045; A good chunk of federal money coming the way of the Ferriday Police Department has a few officers excited about their new rides, and Police Chief Robert Davis said he’s one of them.

U.S. Sen. David Vitter and U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander announced Tuesday that the Ferriday Police Department will receive a $90,000 grant to purchase four new police cars.

Davis said the new cars will bring the department’s total number of patrol cars up to 10 and give several officers, including himself, a reliable marked vehicle that they previously didn’t have.

&uot;It’s something we’ve been working on since we came in,&uot; said Davis, the police chief since July. &uot;It’s something we really need to serve the public. We wanted to get every guy his own unit so if we have a call out, a big emergency, when a guy leaves his home he’s already prepared.&uot;

The grant is through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development.

&uot;I am pleased that the U.S. Department of Agriculture made this federal money available to Ferriday,&uot; Vitter said. &uot;This grant will enhance the police presence in town, and give the police department more tools to ensure safe streets and a secure environment for the people of Ferriday.&uot;

Mayor Gene Allen said he was thankful to all parties for making the grant money a reality.

&uot;Ferriday is a crossroads for central Louisiana and with 50,000 cars passing through our town each day, we were in dire need of additional police cars,&uot; Allen said.

Davis said he was hopeful the cars could be purchased soon.

FPD recently bought two new cars.

After a public hearing on the matter Tuesday, the town council agreed to accept the grant, which will also pay for two used Waterproof, La., Police Department cars.

Other funds to be used for the purchase include $20,200 from the state and a $10,000 match from the town. Together, the funds will be used to buy the cars and equip the new ones. The used cars are already equipped, Allen said.

Nita McCann

contributed to this report.