Norwalk Police Introduce New DARE Car

Norwalk Police introduced their new DARE car Wednesday, a 1992 Ford Mustang convertible painted to match the department's patrol cars and outfitted with emergency flashing lights and a siren. A large image of the international D.A.R.E. program's mascot, Daren The Lion, appears on the hood. 

D.A.R.E. officer Christopher Holms drove it into the headquarters parking lot at around noon, with Police Chief Harry W. Rilling and other department members awaiting its arrival.

With 41,000 miles on the odometer, the car was given to Norwalk by the Fairfield Police Department, which recently stopped using it.

The car will serve as a flashy symbol of the department's D.A.R.E. program, which discourages fifth-graders from using drugs or participating in gangs or violent behavior.

Holms said the department teaches the program in 13 schools.

D.A.R.E. -- Drug Abuse Resistance Education -- is an international program that was founded in 1983.