By Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
ENGLEWOOD, Fla. — Messing with a patrol car is a bit like tugging on Superman’s cape, but that didn’t stop some jokester from adding a “For Sale” sign to a cop car strategically placed to deter speeding in Florida.
It happened the weekend of March 16 in Englewood, and the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office got the last laugh when it posted a photo on social media. Englewood is about an 85-mile drive south from Tampa.
“Kinda disappointed in the minimal interest in this beautiful vehicle,” the sheriff’s office wrote in the March 18 Facebook post.
“Despite its high mileage and idling hours, this baby has lots of life left and plenty of stories to tell. This car has been through it all and keeps on going. Sure, the leg room in the back is minimal and the rear seats aren’t all that comfortable, but real friends sit up front anyway!”
No, the car isn’t really for sale.
But the humor resonated, with the post getting more than 4,000 reactions and comments in one day, including from some who saw it as proof the unincorporated Englewood area is still a small town at heart.
“In this day and time, with so much hate and fear, what a wonderful response to a friendly joke,” Barbara Roberts wrote on the post.
“Saw this (sign) yesterday and said someone must have played a prank. Love the CCSO’s sense of humor with it,” Deb Roberts posted.
“Everyone thinks about this when passing a sleeper (car). But someone went and did it. Legend!” Brandon Dickinson said.
A few commenters asked if the joke was technically illegal. Not so, the sheriff’s office told McClatchy News. Signs are not unlike a flyer, which can be placed under windshield wipers, officials said.
“However, the vehicle is parked for a purpose and we want to make sure people understand that it is best not to mess with it because they do not know what that purpose may be,” the sheriff’s office said.
“In this case, the vehicle was to deter speeders in the area. Seeing a ‘For Sale’ sign on the vehicle clearly interferes with that. That said, we can take a joke and understand this was a harmless prank.”
—
©2024 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.