KCPD's Body Shop creates new show car

There are many behind-the-scenes people at KCPD who don't get much public credit for the hard work they do. One of those is the Body Shop in our Fleet Operations Unit. Police cars can take a beating, and it's amazing how these talented technicians can put them back together. They save the department hundreds of thousands of dollars by repairing cars instead of forcing us to replace wrecked ones. In their downtime, they recently got to show off their skills by creating a new show car. Here's the story from our Informant newsletter, with pictures of the car below:

For the first time in more than 17 years, KCPD has a new show car to take to community events.

Police take the show car to dozens of events throughout the year. It’s a favorite among children and provides an opportunity for police to build relationships with residents. The previous show car, a 1993 Crown Victoria, had to be towed to all of its appearances. The new one, a 2006 Crown Vic, will head out on its own.

Fleet Unit Supervisor Darrell Cooper said the 2006 Crown Vic is a former KCPD patrol car that was taken out of service.

“Rather than sell it, we took it in, put a paint job on it, put some wheels on it and did some work on the interior,” he said.

Body Shop Supervisor Marvin Russell said all of the Fleet Unit’s Body Shop section brainstormed about a theme for the new car. They decided it should be a memorial to officers killed in the line of duty. The car features a large badge with a black mourning band on the front driver and passenger doors, stripes of the American flag all around and an eagle on the hood.

Fleet Operations Technician Michael Barton painted the flag portions, and Russell’s nephew, Kimo Russell, airbrushed the flag’s shading and the eagle. Carrell Brothers Colors even donated all of the paint.

“It came out really nice,” Supervisor Russell said.

The Body Shop also put on a spoiler and some shiny new wheels. They took the stereo out of the old car and installed it on the new one, as well as cleaned up the interior.

“The guys in the Body Shop all took part,” Russell said.

The new show car will start making more and more public appearances as the weather warms for spring and summer festivals and community events.

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