Local businesses spare BPD’s “last” Crown Vic spared from auction

October 31, 2024

In 2022, the Bradenton Police Department retired our last 2010 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. Already out of service, car #38 was slated to be sent to the Tampa Machinery Auction.

However, the Crown Vic remained in our parking lot, which gave Officer Josh Small, who last drove #38, an idea. Officer Small, currently BPD’s Crime Prevention Officer, approached The Shop, a Bradenton-owned-and-operated auto-repair business known for vehicle restoration and customization, to see if they’d be interested in salvaging the car. While they could have hit the brakes on the idea - they didn’t. Instead, their creativity immediately went into overdrive, and The Shop offered to restore and reimagine #38, pro bono, into a showpiece that could be used for community outreach.

BPD handed over the keys, and creative license, to The Shop to do whatever they liked! In October 2024, the “Slick Vic,” as The Shop dubbed it, was returned to the department, and the eye-turning patrol car is already a hit at community events.

Thank you to:

• The Shop

• OE Wheels

• Federal Signal

• ProLogic ITS

• Auto Trim Design

Before and after photos of the “Slick Vic” are below.