Don’t Confuse Sheriff’s Squad Cars in North Iowa with Santa’s Sleigh

Several northeast Iowa sheriff’s offices are reminding the public not to confuse their squad cars with Santa’s Sleigh.

In similar Facebook posts by the Floyd, Chickasaw and Mitchell County sheriff’s offices, with each including a picture of one of their patrol vehicles, a **PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT ** reads, “This IS NOT Santa’s sleigh!! Yes they have bright lights and loud sirens, however they are not magical.  Yes, some of our Deputies have 4 wheel drive or all wheel drive but they can not get through everything, especially if we can’t see. If in the next 24-72 hours you find yourself stranded, we will do what we can to get you, however we cannot guarantee you that we’ll be able to.  Please plan accordingly.  If you have to be out and about make sure you have an emergency kit, food, water, blankets, shovel, phone charger, full tank of gas, winter jacket, gloves, hat, scarf, snow boots, and let someone know where you are going.  If at all possible we would ask that you stay put!  If you have an emergency, we will do everything possible to get services out to you to assist you.”

The Bremer County Sheriff’s Office has issued a reminder that “Our vehicles are the same as your vehicles, so if you get stuck we can as well. We have a list of people that volunteer their services by allowing us to hitch a ride on their snowmobiles for extreme emergencies. Be aware that response time could be much slower than you are used to. If you have an emergency and we can’t get to you, we have to start calling volunteers with snowmobiles or snowplows to see if we can make it to you and all of that takes time to get things in motion. There are going to be way more people in need than Deputies available, so please stay home if you can and remain safe.”