What’s a fully marked Hernando County Sheriff’s Office patrol car doing in Germany?
Tobi Thieme takes pride as he drives around town in his fully marked Hernando County Sheriff’s Office patrol car. He’s an ambassador of sorts for the agency and takes that job seriously, sometimes being asked to lead a wedding procession in the cruiser or to attend a car show.
He has a dash-mounted radar gun to clock speeders, but he’s never issued any tickets. His forest green uniform – a tradition for sheriff’s offices in Florida – is in impeccable condition.
But if you want to see Thieme or his patrol car in action, you’ll have to grab your passport and board a 16-hour flight to north Germany.
“Greetings From Germany”
It began with an innocuous post to a Facebook group for fans of Crown Victoria Police Interceptor vehicles on February 20, 2025. The caption read “Greetings From Germany” with a hang loose hand emoji. It featured a garaged Crown Victoria vehicle with exact HCSO livery and equipment.
Thus began the local intrigue – why is a fully-marked HCSO vehicle in Germany, and why wasn’t the law enforcement livery or equipment removed when it was auctioned off?
The answer, as Thieme explains, is simple. The car was imported to Germany unmarked and with no equipment, but details on the original title (which he has framed) gave him clues as to the origins of his new car.
For Thieme, the history and story of the car was a big reason why he and other European collectors of American police cars, restored its original livery. “It is a historic vehicle and it should not be wrongly disfigured,” Thieme explained. “I don’t want to cover up where the vehicle comes from, what it has experienced, and, above all, how many people it was able to help as an emergency vehicle.”
Indeed, Thieme has gone through painstaking detail to accurately restore the history of the vehicle. Using documents that came with the car, he was able to determine that the original unit number was 151. Using his research skills, he found that the vehicle originally belonged to the now-defunct Brooksville Police Department before HCSO took over the city’s law enforcement duties and re-branded the vehicle.
He recreated all the original decals and had them applied so accurately that it is indistinguishable from HCSO’s current livery. He’s been offered push bars to give the car a more aggressive look, but he politely declined it. His reasoning is the vehicle never had push bars when it was used to protect and serve Hernando County.
Like many other American law enforcement vehicle collectors across Europe, it’s not about impersonation or authority. It’s a recreational hobby focused on Americana and the historic origins of the police car they imported.
Law Enforcement’s Go-To Vehicle
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Ford Motor Company’s Crown Victoria was synonymous with law enforcement and the company had a near-monopoly on police vehicles throughout the United States.
The car’s V8 engine accommodated high-speed chases, rear-wheel drive made it easier to clear curbs and medians, and the body-on-frame design simplified repairs in the event of a collision.
For years, observant motorists could easily identify the vehicle’s distinguishable headlight pattern even at night. It served as a signal to slow down, or commonly in Florida, to stop camping in the fast lane and move over.
Because of their prevalence, the vehicles became recognizable as American police cars in movies and television productions viewed by audiences all over the world. “On one hand, that is the film car and on the other hand, the reliable technology and that a car has been built for so long but has hardly been changed,” Thieme said.
Due to various regulations across Europe, powerful full-sized cars are a rare sight, which makes the vehicle even more of a hot commodity. “What every German loves above all are American V8 engines and the size of the cars,” Thieme said. “European cars are much smaller.”
European Police Car Collectors
The concept of American police car collectors in Europe was first introduced by the car culture website Jalopnik in 2024, when a fully-marked cruiser for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office was discovered in Gniezno, Poland.
Similar to the United States, Germany has rules regarding police equipment on civilian vehicles. The red and blue lightbar can be activated, but to comply with the country’s laws, they can’t be activated from the cabin, so the switch is under the hood.
Additionally, his LED lightbar on top must be covered up while the vehicle is in motion. Thieme had a custom-designed black leather sleeve to accomplish this.
Back in his hometown of Preetz, located in Schleswig-Holstein on the Northern German coast, his car has made him into a local celebrity. “When I drive through German cities in my car, everyone is standing on the side of the road with their mouth open or grinning,” Thieme said. “Even the German ‘Polizei’ think it’s great and exciting to see a car like this.”
Brooksville Connection
As part of his research into the history of the vehicle, he’s learned quite a bit about Brooksville and Hernando County. He’s able to identify points of interest, such as the mural on Mountaineer Coffee Company’s downtown Brooksville location.
Thieme has never been to Hernando County, Florida, or aside from an airport layover, the United States. “I would like to get to know the city out of pure curiosity. I would also like to visit the department […] and get to know the people,” Thieme said. “It would be very fulfilling for me.”
Approached by a reporter at an unrelated event, Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis was aware of the vehicle circulating on social media. Reached for comment via email, Nienhuis said he understands the allure of the classic Crown Victoria. “Law enforcement is one of the few careers where you know, just by your presence, you are making a tangible difference in the community,” Nienhuis stated. “Every single day is different and often involves helping citizens on the worst day of their lives. These things, combined with the over 200-year history of Sheriffs in Florida, it is no wonder that this car is a collector’s item halfway around the world.”
Thieme finds HCSO’s nightly social media posts about locking your car at 9:00 p.m. amusing and hopes to one day meet the Sheriff himself. He aspires to someday visit the Nature Coast and soak in the history, culture, and sights.
“It is a big dream to get to know the home of my dream car.”
