An English motorist whose American cop car turned heads in Angus after it was spotted on the streets of Forfar and Edzell says he can’t believe the attention it has received.
Caleb Keogh, who moved to Edzell a week ago after he started working in Aberdeen, caused a stir in his new community when his police-issued Chevrolet Impala was spotted by locals.
‘I couldn’t believe when I saw the car in the newspapers’
The 25-year-old rail engineer is used to being asked about his unusual vehicle but he admitted it was “funny” to appear in the local newspaper so soon after arriving in the area.
He said: “I’ve just moved here and as soon as I look through the newspapers at the shops I see my car.
“I used to live down in South Shields in England and I was never in the newspaper then, but it seems like every time I come up to Scotland I’m in the headlines.
“I thought it was quite funny that it got spotted after I stopped at Tesco for some snacks.”
‘It cost me about £2,500.’
The car enthusiast bought the decommissioned police vehicle three years ago after seeing it posted on eBay.
He said: “It cost me about £2,500, really cheap for what I got.
“It’s a Chevy Impala 9C1 which is exclusively sold to police in the United States.
“Everything in it is basically a heavy duty version of a regular Chevy Impala, made for fleet use.
“The big question that people always ask me is if it’s road legal, and because it’s a foreign vehicle it is.
“The sirens do work, but there’s an isolation switch in the bonnet so that, when I’m on a public road, I can’t trigger them at all – that’s how I get away with having them.
“I don’t turn the flashing lights on and if I did, I think I’d have Police Scotland at my door faster than I could say it wasn’t me.”
Caleb’s car spent its first eight years as a patrol vehicle in Oklahoma before being sold off at auction.
It was redecorated with Sarasota Police livery after its move to the UK.
Caleb said: “When I first got it, the only livery on it was the Oklahoma one and it was a bit basic.
“I really like the Sarasota one so I got that put on instead and it’s been turning heads ever since.”
Attention from Sarasota PD themselves
The car has even caught the attention of the real Sarasota Police Department, with a spokeswoman saying: “We appreciate the support for our agency and law enforcement.
“There are a few differences between his car and our patrol cars here in the U.S. (car number isn’t the same, markings aren’t exactly the same but very similar).
“While Caleb doesn’t have any law enforcement authority overseas as a representative of our agency and our agency doesn’t really use the Impala vehicles anymore (we’re moving to Tahoes), we do appreciate the support overseas!”