Report: Dealership Service Manager Takes Police Cruiser On Joyride

Law enforcement often services their vehicles at dealerships and they do so putting full confidence in that store to take care of their vehicles. However for one Chevy store, that police cruiser got taken for a joyride. No timeline for when this occurred was immediately available.

At Edwards Chevrolet in Birmingham, Alabama a police cruiser was taken in for warranty service but allegedly ended up being taken for an illegal ride. Trooper Chuck Daniel, speaking of the trooper who took his car in for service, “Surveillance video inside the patrol car activates when the blue lights are on. When he got his vehicle back. He noticed there were several hours of additional footage he didn’t create on that video system.”

During those several hours, it’s alleged that the service manager for Edwards Chevrolet, Richard Blackburn, impersonated a police officer. The police cruiser was reportedly driven at a high rate of speed and had its blue lights flashing multiple times. Trooper Daniel told ABC 33/40 Blackburn drove the police car around and made citizens yield off the side of the road. Blackburn was arrested and charged with impersonating a police officer and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

Trooper Daniel noted this type of crime on the part of a citizen like Blackburn is dangerous. Daniel explained, “This creates a problem for the relationship between law enforcement and the public. Also, when you are acting in that manner, you can violate someone because they are trusting that is the police behind them.”

If the allegations are true, this type of incident certainly sheds a negative light on the hard working and responsible service employees across the nation. From a public image perspective, what is this dealership’s next move? What can this store do in order to maintain or rebuild the confidence of its customers?