Police to Brutalize Black People in Climate-Friendly Way with First Electric Prisoner Transport Van

On Friday, the Cobb County Sheriff's Office shared that it will now be able to transport prisoners for up to 200 miles on a full battery with its new Electric Prison Transport Van, which it claimed is the first in the country.

“The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office and Fleet Management is committed to being good stewards of our citizens and our environment,” Al Curtis, Fleet Director of Cobb County Fleet Management, announced on LinkedIn. “We constantly strive to reduce operating cost, reduce cost per mile and the County’s carbon footprint.”

Cobb County in Georgia is the same place where former Lt. Greg Abbott tried to calm down a woman during a traffic stop by reminding her she wouldn’t get shot because she wasn’t Black. 

"I've just seen way too many videos of cops—,” the woman exclaims when explaining why she wasn’t reaching for her phone. “But you’re not Black,” the officer interrupted. “Remember, we only kill black people. Yeah, we only kill Black people, right?” Abbott was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, then retired shortly after.

It was also in Cobb County where, in 2020, a Black 17-year-old named Vincent Truitt was shot and killed by a police officer pursuing a stolen vehicle Truitt was a passenger in. A grand jury ruled the shooting justified in 2021 and refused to press charges, leading to a $150 million lawsuit by Truitt's family that was dismissed this September by a judge on "qualified immunity" grounds.

To hear that the Sheriff’s Office is committing to decarbonizing its carceral system is unlikely to wipe away the stain of these incidents and others around the country, and brings readily to mind the satirical meme about needing more women prison guards. 

After all, the prison transport van may conjure up images of vans used in so-called "rough rides"—intentionally dangerous, and often fatal rides where suspects are put in handcuffs without seat belts, placed in the back of a vans, and taken on what the Los Angeles Times called "intentionally wild trips" full of sharp turns and sudden stops that send passengers crashing into metal walls, benches, and corners. 

In 2016, a collaborative investigation between the Marshall Project and VICE found that nationwide abuse and neglect inherent to prisoner transportation was amplified by private, for-profit companies. Private companies were paid up to $1.50 a mile per prisoner, poorly trained guards traveled for weeks at a time across the country in jam-packed 15-passenger vans without beds, toilets, or medical equipment. 

The Marshall Project also found that between 2000 and 2016, there were over 50 crashes and in nearly every crash prisoners were shackled, not seat-belted. Twelve prisoners and guards had died, another twelve prisoners had suffered neck, skull, and spine injuries. 

So, sure, prison transportation may operate with relatively little oversight and maybe there’s not much evidence there have been any notable reforms since the Marshall Project’s investigation, but at least there will be a green transition.