So ... What Exactly Does the Back Seat of a Vernon Police Car Look Like?

It was a question all over town after Vernon police slowly transported the victim of a stabbing a short distance up Union Street to Rockville General Hospital on the hood of a police cruiser on Thursday.

Did you ever really take a good look at the back seat of one of those cars?

In a news briefing abbot the case on Friday, it was a lengthy discussion among police officers and members of the media.

About two hours later, as Center Road School was getting out for the week, a bunch of parents were talking about the case.

Parents were also talking about it on Saturday at Vernon Youth Soccer Association games.

An off-duty officer brought it up at Home Depot on Sunday.

The consensus? There was no way a bleeding man who had to remain flat was getting in there?

"You understand that when you see it," Det. John Kelley said on Friday.

With that, Kelley, Lt. Mel Hardy and Lt. William Meier offered a media tour of the back seat.

Most of the police cars in the Vernon PD fleet are full-size Ford Crown Victorias - the Police Interceptor version. That version features a molded plastic back seat designed to accommodate suspects, but also restrict their movements.

The back portion of the seat is contoured and the bottom portion sits relatively low. A metal seat belt buckle protrudes from the center.

"We can get people in there but it also limits their movement," Meier said.

Common antics among arrestees in the back are kicking - both the cage that separates the officer in the front seat from the suspect in the back seat and windows and attempts to tear the seats with handcuffs or damage the rear of the cruiser on any way possible.

Meier and Hardy were also quick to point out that the molded plastic seats last longer, and are a lot easier to clean if, say, a suspect gets sick.

Meier said the old vinyl seats gave way to the plastic seats about a decade ago.