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San Francisco Police Use Amphibious ATV to Patrol Streets (And Bays)

Cops in the San Francisco Police Department might just start calling themselves Bond. James Bond.

Like something out of a low-budget James Bond film, the select San Francisco cops have taken to the open road—and the open sea—thanks to some high tech gadgets. Known as a quadski, this new mode of transportation for the Californian cops is a hybrid that will likely make you look twice.

On land, it is an ATV. In the water, it is a jet ski.

And we thought we’ve seen everything.

The quadskis got a bit of attention earlier this week when a cop was using one to patrol McCovey Cove during a San Francisco Giants game. This cool gadget was shown on the game’s television broadcast—it even became popular in the Twitter-verse!

The San Francisco Police Dept’s amphibious “Quadski” in McCovey Cove (H/T @SportsGrid) pic.twitter.com/2ZCc749Dfq — Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) July 26, 2015

#sfpd. I’m sure the cops will say they were zipping around Mission Bay on important police business but looked fun. pic.twitter.com/tPxlRxgfSq — C.W. Nevius (@cwnevius) July 26, 2015

The San Francisco Police Department didn’t spend public funds to get these quadskis. They were actually a gift from Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff, who gave three to the city.

This isn’t the first time these amphibious ATVs have been used by police. They’re already a staple in Dubai’s police force, making a splash in the criminal world.

Watch Top Gear try these quadskis out:

While we’re not entirely sure it’s necessary for any police force to have these dual-purpose ATVs—after all, how often does a criminal flee on foot, only to launch himself into water?—we do have to say that the quadskis are pretty freakin’ cool.

News Source: Gizmodo