I see these all the time-Crown Victorias, for the uninitiated, are typically the car of choice for regular police cruisers. These have the kind of spotlights that regular cruisers have too. Otherwise they look like civilians rides. I’d imagine if they belonged to a police dept., they’d have police plates on them. No undercover cop would be dumb enough to drive around in one, of course. Are they private security?
They could just be old police cars. Are they Interceptors?
They might also be retired taxis.
When I lived in L.A., I frequently drove by a yard in the Long Beach area where surplus police vehicles were stored. I don’t know how they were sold, but they were made available to the public for purchase. I’m pretty sure most of them were sold to taxi companies. Many of the taxis I saw every day had no trim on the front doors, which one would expect if a CHP star had been on there.
There’s a difference between an unmarked car and an undercover vehicle.
My friend’s husband bought a couple of ex-CHP Mustangs at auction a number of years ago. I imagine they also sell ex-cruiser type cars at auction to the public as well. That is probably what you saw.
Probably retired police cars, just like the Blues Brother’s car.
Commonly sold at auction by police departments when they are worn out. Sometimes you see them still with the police style paint job.
I see these all the time too. My question is, why isn’t the spotlight removed before the car is sold to civilians?
Why would it be?
Because there are people who want to drive cars that look like cop cars. I see them all the time here (Indianapolis). They occupy the left lane, tailgate a lot, and generally rely on other drivers getting out of way in fear of being pulled over. They’ll often attach large antennas, decals and other things to add to the illusion.
Well I’m sure lots of people want to drive cars that look like cop cars but that doesn’t address why the cops would want that as well. It seems like the very opposite of what law enforcement would want.
Basically this. Because of the potential for police impersonation.
The potential for police impersonation is small, but the usefulness of a spotlight for taxi drivers or people who live in areas that are not well-lit is great. Besides, anyone who wants or needs a spotlight can just buy one and put it in the pre-existing hole. Why not just leave the light in?
ETA: Someone told me of seeing a Crown Vic with a license plate that read NOTACOP.
.
It’s a lot easier plugging a hole drilled in a trunk lid for an antenna than it is to repair the hole in the A pillar for a spotlight. And they’re not all that police related of an option anyway.
IIRC, my city once sold a couple of police cars and removed nothing but the radios. The buyers got marked cars with working blue lights and sirens. This was controversial for obvious reasons.
Insane.
And hard to believe. Notice no cite. I’m not saying it didn’t happen, I’m just saying…CITE?
Many of the spotlights on used police vehicles are disabled. It’s quite easy to do as a cable is disconnected out of a fuse box, and then the bulb is removed. This is easier to do than fill in the holes used for the control arm and such.
And it MUST be done as it is a capital offense for a civilian to posses a spotlight on a vehicle!!!
Back when I was just out of high school I owned a 1968 Plymouth Fury that was an ex LA County Sheriffs patrol car.
The county painted it before they sold the car, a very ugly shade of orange. I
My friends christened it the big orange ugly.
The BOU had 2 spotlights (clear, not red) and was an absolute blast to drive.
I didn’t have to tailgate anybody, people on the highway would see me a 1/4 mile back and they would make a lane change (and slow down). 
…that looks exactly like a police car. Right. I agree.