FERRIDAY — Ferriday Police Department Capt. Rickey Hollins didn’t much care for the three new 2013 Dodge Charger police cruisers the department received last month — until he realized he got the keys to one.

“I couldn’t go to sleep last night because I kept thinking about getting back in the car in the morning,” Hollins said. “They’re real nice vehicles.”

Through a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Police Chief Richard Madison said the department was able to purchase the new cruisers that were a sight for sore eyes to some officers.

The police department paid approximately $17,000, and the USDA contributed approximately $60,000 for the three new vehicles.

“We had six units that had already outlived their use with us, so we were glad to see those new Chargers come through,” Madison said. “Those Chargers will be used in traffic enforcement duty as well as to provide safe vehicles for our officers to respond to emergency situations like storms or other disasters.”

And Hollins didn’t have to wait long to test out the vehicle’s 292 horsepower engine when he was asked to respond to storm damage complaints in the Clayton area after a tornado damaged several houses.

“I swear I outran the rain in that car,” Hollins said laughing. “Luckily, there was no severe damage but these cars can pretty much go where you need them to go in any scenario.”

The other noticeable change with the new Ferriday Police Department vehicles are the gold decals on the side of the black cars that will soon become the new standard for the rest of the department’s fleet.

The cars arrived last month, but they weren’t issued to officers until last week after additional equipment was installed.

Assistant Police Chief Margaret Lawrence said the department is planning on painting and placing the same decals on the remaining patrol cars to match the new ones.

The change of department colors has been welcomed by most of the community, Hollins said, but even more so by a certain group of Ferridians.

“The Ferriday High School kids love it because it’s the same as their school colors,” Hollins said. “They got all excited the first time we pulled up to the school in the cars.”

The police department now has a total of 14 vehicles in its fleet — 10 Dodge Chargers and four Ford Crown Victorias.