City to hire expert to determine appropriate size of police force

That is a wonderful idea. With the additional highly visible police presence, it will ensure that the parking lot at each of the divisions will remain the safest and most secure locations throughout the metro area.

That mentality comes from a vindictiveness or a "taste of your own medicine" attitude. Fact is, lieutenants and sergeants have two distinctively different roles in the organization. A patrol sergeant is more likely to actually be mobile for reasons of patrol (although less than half the amount of a patrol officer). A lieutenant has almost exclusively administrative duties. There is no real reason for a lieutenant to be in a marked car. Patrol cars are marked for a reason. If your primary responsibilities are not to patrol, then you really don't need to drive a marked car.