A Michigan County Sheriff Has a ‘New’ Car – a 1981 Chevrolet Camarobought with money confiscated by police from drug gangs.
This week, Saginaw County Sheriff William Federspiel unveiled the squad’s newest recruit, complete with period-correct black-and-white police uniforms and signs.
Sheriff Federspiel told Michigan News Living The 1981 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 was bought at an online auction for $29,000 (AU$44,540) after his agency and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) seized money from a drug cartel operating in the area.
The Camaro will be used for his routine police duties, including loading arrestees into the front seat, as the coupe’s second row of seats is difficult to access, the sheriff said.
The unveiling of Sheriff Federspiel’s new patrol car is said to have come earlier than expected, as he was expected to unveil it in November after hoping to be re-elected as Sheriff.
However, when the Camaro was spotted being repaired at a local workshop, he revealed it early to quash claims that taxpayer money was being spent on it.
“It’s my way of communicating with the public,” said Chief Federspiel. Living.
“People come up to me all the time. They stop me on the street and want to know what’s behind this car, and I’ll tell them.”
However, it seems unlikely that the Camaro will be used for any purpose as it was produced at the height of the US emissions-cutting ‘smog’ era.
By 1981, the Camaro Z/28’s 5.7-litre V8 had been downgraded to a lowly 123kW in automatic models like this, or less than what you’ll find in a new Mazda MX-5 today.
