4-415 - Vehicle Idling

Idling of unoccupied marked and unmarked police vehicles shall be prohibited except in the following circumstances:

• The squad is a K-9 vehicle with the dog inside;
• The vehicle is double-parked or otherwise impeding traffic away from the curb due to a call, or at a crime scene and requires the emergency lights to remain on;
• During a traffic stop;
• During any police action taking place real-time in which the employee has to momentarily leave the vehicle but plans to be returning quickly – such as a response to calls;
• In inclement weather where leaving a squad running is necessary to provide uninterrupted service.

Employees shall not leave unoccupied police vehicles idling in precinct parking lots or while OTL.

Employees shall not idle police vehicles at off-duty jobs whether they occupy the vehicle or not, without prior written permission granted via the Off-Duty Employment Idling Request Form (MP-9060).

Employees shall not intentionally position an unoccupied police vehicle in a double-parked or traffic-impeding position so as to meet the conditions above, if not on a call or at a crime scene.

Definitions

Refer to the Commonly Used Terms page for general definitions.