First-Generation Sheriff's Cruiser Sought by Police Group

Kevin Lynch of Sarasota loves to restore old vehicles – but not just any vehicle.

He concentrates on emergency vehicles, such as fire trucks and ambulances. He wants to expand to vintage police cars, and thinks Sarasota County’s first sheriff’s cruiser is a great place to start.

It’s a natural fit. Lynch served 25 years with the Sarasota Sheriff’s Office, retiring as a lieutenant. He knows the first sheriff’s cruiser was a 1953 Chevrolet sedan. It was all-green with white circles on the door painted with a palm tree.

Lynch is the vice president of the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police. He’s quick to mention it’s not a union, it’s a fraternal order dedicated to local good deeds.

Lynch started a fund-raising drive, hoping to gather $10,000. He’s affiliated with the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, so donations to the “antique patrol car project” are tax-deductible.

“We need a two-door sedan,” said Lynch. He’s been prowling the Internet, finding the vehicles in an array of conditions. “Found one for $2,000, but it needed a lot of work. Others are more expensive but in better condition,” he said.

He is also looking for donations of space, material and time once a vehicle is purchased and moved to Sarasota. “We’re going to need body shop work, storage, paint, labor, upholstery,” said Lynch.

Until 1953, all Sarasota sheriff’s deputies used their personal cars for patrol. That year, then-Sheriff Ross Boyer bought four new Chevrolet two-door sedans. “I guess they were torn between knowledge and budget,” said Lynch. The “knowledge” was how to handle a prisoner in the front seat of the sedan.

“It really would be a good conversation starter,” he said. Lynch knows how antique vehicles draw attention. He’s restored five Cadillac ambulances, a 1935 Chevrolet fire truck and a variety of other old vehicles.

Lynch said the Fraternal Order of Police took up the project after talking with Sheriff Tom Knight. “The sheriff knew we’d get around to doing a patrol car,” he said. “But the sheriff can’t do a fundraiser or spend county money. So we got involved.”

Other antique vehicles could be used. In the 1960s and 1970s, the sheriff’s office alternated between Ford Galaxies and Plymouth Furies. “But it would be more meaningful to do a ’53 Chevy,” said Lynch.

Jeff LaHurd with the Sarasota County Historical found several photos of the first generation of sheriff’s cruisers.