Alabama Slammer: Seized Porsche 911 becomes newest member of Hoover PD
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Hoover P.D. Porsche
In a twist on the great circle of life, a motorist has his Porsche 911 searched during a traffic stop by Hoover, Alabama police, and they find 10 kilos of cocaine in two hidden compartments. The case traipses through the court system for over a year, the bad guy goes away, and the car is handed over to the police department.
The police then take their new 911 to the paint shop, have it dressed in department colors, throw on a wing, light bar, and rear window lights. Voila. A car donated by a criminal now meant to deter – and perhaps catch – other criminals.
Beyond the blue and silver paint job, the car's other decals read "Seized" and "911 Never Forget." The police chief said the car is planned for publicity rounds, to help kids understand what can happen to them if they go for fast money. But if you're an adult, you might want to scratch Hoover off of your "Place to get in a car chase" list...
Gallery: Hoover Police Dept. Porsche
[Source: Officer.com, al.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
kyle618 6:26PM (2/24/2009)
i think those wheels arn't stock. i think they are from the 997 carrera S.
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Josiah 7:18AM (2/24/2009)
Why not auction the 911 and buy a more reasonably priced cruiser so when kids see the car they think 'fiscal responsibility' instead?
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Nude Love 7:24AM (2/24/2009)
Hey, I bet this 911 gets better mileage than a Crown Vic.
Niels 7:30AM (2/24/2009)
Well, what's better - the police buying Crown Vics with our taxes, or repossessing and using Porsches at no cost to us taxpayers?
rndmnme 7:38AM (2/24/2009)
I think Niels is not familiar with what accountants and economists call "opportunities costs"
Lets, see we can either use the car for a role it can't possibly fill or sell it and buy 2 crown vics, OR... not fire police because of the economy.
Lest we not forget government and corporate greed got us here. But damn if that Sheriff doesn't want to drive a Porsche around and claim it's being used as a deterrent.
We all know the position Hoover, AL plays in drug trafficking. It's like the Miami of Alabama. /sarcasm
Mazda FTW! 8:20AM (2/24/2009)
You guys are wayyyy too serious. When I saw this pic all I thought was "WAYYY COOL"
It isin't politico.com. It's AUTOblog.com lol
Polly Prissy Pants 8:56AM (2/24/2009)
"Well, what's better - the police buying Crown Vics with our taxes, or repossessing and using Porsches at no cost to us taxpayers?"
I don't know, I just get a bad feeling when we allow local police agencies to confiscate personal property (that may or may not have been purchased legitimately) because of a drug violation. I understand the theory, this just seems to offer way too much incentive to abuse the system. If you're going to confiscate personal property then as a safeguard you need to ensure that the one doing the confiscating doesn't directly benefit from the act. Otherwise you're just asking for trouble.
patrick 1:03PM (2/24/2009)
because kids don't understand financial responsibility. seeing this car will make an impact. sometimes a striking visual makes more of an impact on peoples consciousness than a rational explanation of money well spent. sometimes strict dollar and sense logic doesn't add up.
RJ 2:08PM (2/24/2009)
I dunno. The way I see it, it teaches kids: if you want a fancy car but can't afford one, join the police force!
Also, I feel bad for tax payers supportin the $350+ z-rated tires, $1000 brake jobs, and $2000 service charges this German toy will require.
notYou 9:28AM (2/24/2009)
AB: "The police chief said the car is planned for publicity rounds, to help kids understand what can happen to them if they go for fast money."
Hmmm, not sure about that.
Chief: "See, after we caught him, we took away his Porsche!"
Kid: "Wow, that was his car? He got it by running drugs?" [gears turn]
Chief: "Yeah, but we caught him and now he's in ja..."
Kid: "Cool car!"
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Avinash machado 7:37AM (2/24/2009)
And they find 10 kilos of cocaine in two hidden compartments.
Since when did Alabama start using the Metric system?
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rndmnme 7:40AM (2/24/2009)
Since they couldn't figure out how to switch the electronic scale from "Fancy pants European" to " 'Merican"
Itsuru 7:46AM (2/24/2009)
Ok, so that's what happened to the car.
But what of the cocaine? :P
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Menice 9:20AM (2/24/2009)
yea well thay used that too... divided up, each member of the force gets an ounce to blow,
then while high, they can make the "publicity rounds, to help kids understand what can happen to them if they go for fast money."
they used the illegal car (transporter), why not use the illegal drugs right?
RBW 7:47AM (2/24/2009)
What gives the police the right to seize people's property? Totally ridiculous.
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Niels 7:50AM (2/24/2009)
Well what the hell gives other people the right to deal dangerous drugs or endanger others?
RBW 7:51AM (2/24/2009)
Nothing. That's why the guy was arrested and went to jail. Why should the police take his property?
JohnnyRico 8:05AM (2/24/2009)
Guess you've never heard of a police auction before? I'm betting the larger cities do this all the time, just auction them off. It's been going on for decades now. The police repo houses, and tvs, and, of coure, cars to auction off. Just this time the local police cheif wanted to patrol in a Porsche 911. Do you blame him? I mean, comon, who DOESN'T want to drive around in a Porsche 911 during your job? Anyone? Didn't think so.
Tom Winch 8:52AM (2/24/2009)
What gives the police the right to seize people's property? Totally ridiculous.
Busted with 10 kilos of blow gives them the right. If they found that much cocaine in your house, they'd seize your house. They can legally argue that the property was acquired with illegal drug money.
On another front, I like the "911 Never Forget" stencil on the car. How can you forget it's a 911, they've looked about the same for over 30 years! ;-)
ufgrat 9:01AM (2/24/2009)
The "War on Drugs" gave them that right. In Florida, you can lose your vehicle for as little as a gram of pot. There's no burden of proof on the police to prove that you were responsible for it being there, or even knew it was there.
Good thing it's a "free" country, eh?