Updated on December 7, 2015
Owners of Old Retired Police Cars Demand Government Pensions
A group of owners of auctioned off police vehicles say they do much the same work as cops and therefore deserve government pensions.
Desi Hutlinger poses with the Crown Victoria he bought at a police auction.
“Drivers see a cop car and they slow down and drive more carefully,” said Desi Hutlinger, the owner of a retired 2005 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. “And most people think we’re cops, too, so why shouldn’t we be compensated?”
Hutlinger says he and other so-called “police vehicle enthusiasts” help law enforcement officers by “wearing mirrored sunglasses and patrolling shopping center parking lots.”
“We’re not asking for a full police pension; maybe just a couple hundred bucks a month…and maybe some dental coverage so I can get my chipped tooth fixed,” said Hutlinger, who added, “We really are providing a service out there on the streets.”
But police lieutenant Augie Clench disagrees. “Most of these guys who drive these old police cars look like they just might molest your cat, so I don’t think they’re fooling anyone,” he said.
