SCOOTERS GIVE MALL DEPUTIES A LIFT MANUFACTURER LOANS A THREE-WHEELED RIDE, WHICH PROVIDES SPEED, HEIGHT.Byline: GIDEON RUBIN Staff Writer PALMDALE -- Sheriff's Deputy Jason Lasley was at the food court in the center of Palmdale's Antelope Valley Mall The Antelope Valley Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Palmdale, California. Opened in September, 1990, its buildings take up around 1 million square feet (90,000 m²). Its physical main building, parking lots, and ring road businesses encompass an area a bit less than 0. when two frazzled teens approached him saying they had just been just been robbed in the parking lot. Lasley jumped on his T3Motion electric scooter scooter: see motorcycle. , and after a quick patrol of the parking lot and an adjacent strip mall strip mall n. A shopping complex containing a row of various stores, businesses, and restaurants that usually open onto a common parking lot. Noun 1. , nabbed two suspects within minutes. Lasley said that without use of the scooter, he might not have been able to make the arrest. ``I was able to zip (1) To compress a file with PKZIP. See ZIP file. (2) (Zip) A removable disk from Iomega. See Zip disk. (3) (ZIP) (Zig-Zag Inline P out to the corner of 10th Street West and Rancho ran·cho n. pl. ran·chos Southwestern U.S. 1. A hut or group of huts for housing ranch workers. 2. A ranch. Vista (Boulevard), and there they were,'' Lasley said. ``In a regular patrol car, it takes several minutes just to get to your car.'' The scooter's manufacturer loaned it to the sheriff's deputies patrolling the mall for the past two weeks. The county Sheriff's Department is weighing purchasing about a dozen or so such vehicles for law enforcement use at sites such as malls. The three-wheel T3Motion scooters List of scooter models per manufacturer Aprilia
They are similar in design to popular two-wheel versions that are used recreationally. Lasley said the scooters top out at a 25mph speed, although the ones on loan to the Sheriff's Department are calibrated cal·i·brate tr.v. cal·i·brat·ed, cal·i·brat·ing, cal·i·brates 1. To check, adjust, or determine by comparison with a standard (the graduations of a quantitative measuring instrument): to travel no faster than 18mph. Their maximum range is 25miles on a full charge. In addition to speed and mobility, the scooters provide riders with better visibility, standing on a 1-foot-tall platform off the ground. ``I can patrol the entire parking lot in about 20 minutes,'' Lasley said. ``That's going up and down each aisle and looking inside each car. ``I can look inside every window and see what's going on What's Going On is a record by American soul singer Marvin Gaye. Released on May 21, 1971 (see 1971 in music), What's Going On reflected the beginning of a new trend in soul music. .'' He said it's also made patrolling the mall more fun, and it has helped establish a better relationship with shoppers, especially kids. ``It's been a real positive influence here at the mall,'' Lasley said. ``Kids want to see it, and they want to get there pictures taken with it. Also, it makes the mall look more updated.'' gideon.rubin@dailynews.com (661) 267-7802 CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Sheriff's Deputy Jay Lasley shows how the T3Motion electric scooter works at the Antelope Valley Mall on Friday. (2 -- color) Palmdale sheriff's deputies test the T3Motion electric scooter at the Antelope Valley Mall on Friday. The county Sheriff's Department is weighing purchasing some of the vehicles. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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