Submitted Photo The Minot police department will be slowly replacing its fleet of patrol cars with ones that are painted black and gray.

Minot Police Department patrol cars in Minot will be sporting different colors in the coming years.

Capt. John Klug said the police department has so far replaced four cars.

Two are Ford Interceptors and two are Ford Explorers. They are painted black with gray lettering.

The old police cars, which are painted white, are still on the road but they will also be replaced with the new style over the next four to five years as the budget allows. The 2019 budget will enable the department to purchase another five vehicles.

“It used to cost more if you went to any other color aside from white,” said Klug, but now the price is about the same for several different colors. Police officers voted on which colors they wanted and ultimately chose the black and gray colors.

“It seemed to be kind of a good morale booster,” said Klug, to let the officers have a little more involvement in what they drove.

The police department wanted something fairly simple and plain, but still obvious enough that people would be able to tell they are police cars.

Klug said the police department went with the high bid for state vehicles and also purchased the cars from a dealership in Minnesota, which will save about $2,000 to $3,000 per car.

Klug said people driving the black patrol cars have said some people are a little slower to react to the black and gray painted cars because they are used to seeing the white patrol cars. However, people in need of help should still be able to pick out the police vehicle, whether they are black or white.