A Michigan sheriff’s department has unveiled a 1981 Chevrolet Camaro as their newest patrol car, after using money from a cartel bust to fund the vehicle.
Saginaw County Sheriff William Federspiel revealed this week that his department had funded the muscle car from a drug forfeiture fund.
The fund is made of cash taken from drug dealers, with his team having assisted in a case that involved a Mexican cartel pushing cocaine into Saginaw County.
In total, the car cost $29,000 and was bought at an online auction house, before auto shop teams dressed up as a classic patrol car.
Federspiel told WNEM that the vehicle would be used as a real-life reminder to drug dealers.
The vehicle was purchased with around 50,000 miles on the clock, and it will be put to use as a traditional patrol vehicle.
Saginaw County Sheriff William Federspiel revealed this week that his department had funded the muscle car from a drug forfeiture fund
He told the outlet: ‘I’m not afraid to let drug dealers know that I’m coming for them if they want to continue to do that type of work here in Saginaw County. We won’t tolerate it.’
The vehicle was purchased with around 50,000 miles on the clock, and it will be put to use as a traditional patrol vehicle.
While the backseats don’t have much room for holding detained people, he said he would position people in the passenger seat.
Speaking with MLive, he added that he had been wanting to wait to unveil the vehicle in November while campaigning to retain his sheriff’s title.
He rushed the vehicle out however to avoid the appearance of an election-season type publicity stunt.
Images of the Camaro being worked on had been used in campaign material by his opponents, claiming the money used was taxpayers.
He added: ‘There is not one dime of taxpayer money that went into this vehicle, or anything with it. It’s all drug forfeiture funds.’
While the backseats don’t have much room for holding detained people, he said he would position people in the passenger seat
Images of the Camaro being worked on had been used in campaign material by his opponents, claiming the money used was taxpayers
The Camaro represents the latest in a line of vehicles that the department have purchased using the drug fund.
In 2010, they brought a Ford Mustang GT into their fleet that they confiscated from a local drug dealer. The door of the car said: ‘Taken from a local drug dealer’.
Then a 2003 Cadillac CTS received a similar treatment after it too was confiscated, with a decal reading: ‘Taken from a cocaine dealer’.
The most recent using the drug fund was a 1967 Ford Galaxie 500 custom, which has since been sold on.