New York State Police is unveiling a new patrol vehicle design, according to an announcement quietly made on Instagram several weeks ago.
Beginning this year the State Police fleet “will transition to a gray body with gold striping, a look that pays tribute to our historic roots,” the announcement said. The transition is expected to occur gradually as older vehicles are replaced – only one car currently has the new color scheme.
A state police spokesperson said the new design pays homage to 1950s State Police cars, with a gray motif that also better matches their current uniforms.
Before 1958 State Police uniforms were woven of equal parts white fiber and black fiber to symbolize the impartiality of justice.
Technical Sergeant Jack Keller, the Assistant Director of Public Information for New York State Police at Division Headquarters, told WTEN the new color is expected to save money, as the State pays “to own” the specific shade of blue across all manufacturers, which costs $600 to $700 per vehicle.
Like most U.S. states, New York did not establish a state police force until the early twentieth century due to considerable opposition from workers unions, who identified them as a threat to striking workers and union organizing, which was happening in several other states.
Following the 1913 murder of Sam Howell, a construction foreman in Westchester County, and failure of the local police to arrest suspects he had named before his death, the State Legislature passed a bill to establish a state police force.
The New York State Police was officially established on April 11, 1917 and was used extensively during Prohibition.
On January 1, 1980, the Long Island State Parkway Police merged with the state police establishing Troop L. In 1997, the State Capital Police were consolidated and absorbed into the State Police.
In December 2019, then Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the state’s Park Police would be merged with the State Police. The merger was expected to take about six months, but Cuomo resigned in August 2021, and in January 2022, it was announced the two forces would remain separate.
The New York State Police is one of only five state police agencies in the United States that does not equip its state police vehicles with dashboard cameras.
Illustrations, from above: New York State Police new car design, 2025 (State Police); and a New York State Police car from the 1950s.
