Michigan sheriff’s department unveils 1981 Chevy Camaro patrol bought with cash obtained from very unusual source
Michigan State Police have unveiled a 1981 Chevrolet Camaro as their newest patrol car, financed with money from a drug cartel bust.
Saginaw County Sheriff William Federspiel announced this week that his department had financed the muscle car from a drug seizure fund.
The fund is made up of money taken from drug dealers. His team helped with a case involving a Mexican cartel smuggling cocaine into Saginaw County.
The car cost a total of $29,000 and was purchased through an online auction house, after which auto repair crews dressed it up as a classic patrol car.
Federspiel said WNEM that the vehicle would serve as a real memory aid for drug dealers.
The vehicle was purchased with approximately 80,000 kilometers on the odometer and will be used as a traditional patrol vehicle.
Saginaw County Sheriff William Federspiel announced this week that his department had financed the muscle car from a drug seizure fund.
He told the outlet, “I’m not afraid to let drug dealers know that I’m going to get them if they want to continue doing that type of work here in Saginaw County. We won’t tolerate it.”
The vehicle was purchased with approximately 80,000 kilometers on the odometer and will be used as a traditional patrol vehicle.
While there isn’t much room for detainees in the back seat, he said he would put people in the passenger seat.
Speak with MLifeHe added that he wanted to wait to unveil the vehicle in November while he campaigned to retain his sheriff title.
However, he quickly ran away to avoid making it appear as if it was an election-time publicity stunt.
Images of the work on the Camaro were used in campaign materials by his opponents, who claimed the money used came from taxpayers.
He added: ‘“There’s not a dime of taxpayer money put into this vehicle or anything like that. It’s all drug seizure money.”
Although there is not much room in the back seat for detainees, he said he would put people in the passenger seat
Images of the Camaro being worked on were used by his opponents in campaign materials, claiming the money used came from taxpayers.
The Camaro is the latest in a series of vehicles the department has purchased with the help of the drug fund.
In 2010, they added a Ford Mustang GT to their fleet that they confiscated from a local drug dealer. The door of the car was marked: ‘Taken from a local drug dealer’.
Then a 2003 Cadillac CTS was seized and given similar treatment. It had a sticker on it that read, “Coming from a cocaine dealer.”
The most recent investment that benefited from the drug fund was a 1967 Ford Galaxie 500 Custom, which has since been sold.