It’s a 1953 Chevrolet Bel Air sedan, decked out as a police car, and the vice president of the Sarasota (Florida) County Lodge No. 45 of the Fraternal Order of Police is looking for one.
The lodge is spearheading a project to find and restore a car that will match the ones first used by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office nearly 60 years ago. Once the restoration is complete, the vehicle will be donated to the agency for various public uses.
Kevin Lynch, the VP of the lodge and a retired Sarasota County Sheriff’s lieutenant, is a dyed-in-the-wool "car guy" (we know the type!) and he is in charge of the project. The Sheriff’s first fleet of four vehicles consisted of 1953 Chevrolet Bel Air 150s, although they were two-door sedans, not four-doors like the car in the photo.
Not only was 1953 the first year that the Sheriff’s Office had cars, it was also the first year that its four officers had uniforms! The county was far more rural then than it is today. "Basically," said Lynch in a recent interview, "there were no humans south of Route 72, just cattle and fruit." That situation is very different today.
The lodge is seeking more than just a lead on a vehicle. It is seeking funding. Tax-deductible contributions to this project can be sent to The Community Foundation of Sarasota County, P. O. Box 49587, Sarasota, FL 34230-6587, marked for the antique patrol car project.
The FOP is also looking for in-kind services and donations such as labor and supplies needed for the project, and possibly the vehicle itself. Storage space will also be needed for the vehicle as well as initial transportation to Sarasota. If you can help, contact Lynch here. You can learn more about this project by visiting the web site of the lodge here.
