Alfie Smith, 19, is now the owner of the once stateside owned Crown Vic. Smith bought the old Caryville cruiser for $2,500.

By SUSAN SHARP

CARYVILLE, TN./ MORECAMBE, UK (WLAF)- Living in Morecambe, England, Alfie Smith was always enamored with the America classic Crown Vic sedan, a model often used by American police departments.

In 2021 at 15- years- old, Smith joined a Facebook group. He ended up buying a Crown Vic with the money he inherited after his father died.

“I was drawn to the Crown Vics as I loved watching them in old police movies and the ride along documentaries with police departments,” he said. “They are such an iconic car.”

Hoping to bring the simple but sturdy car with a 4.6 liter, V8 to his seaside town, Smith combed through the photos of cars for sale in the social media group.  “I picked the best of the bunch, which happened to be a former Caryville Police car,” he said.

The young Englishman started investigating the history of the car. Locating photos of the car at an insurance auction, he learned it was taken out of service following a 2018 accident, he said. Purchased by someone else at a Knoxville auction, the damages had been repaired and the car sold to a North Carolina man. Smith bought it from him for $2,500 in 2021.

The car as it looks today at UK car show.
Smith added a light bar to the Crown Vic.

Using PayPal to complete the transaction, Smith paid 800 pounds, which was $1,076 US dollars to have the car shipped to him in Lancashire County.  At that time, the Crown Vic had most of its original equipment including the cage and the lights. The only thing missing was the light controller.

Once the Caryville Police Car hit the shores of England, Smith worked to “bring it back to its former glory.” Smith is a mechanic making the work easier. The car received a cleaning, and a friend of Smith’s recreated the decals.

He replaced the controller, rewired everything, got new lights and a siren controller.

Adding a lightbar to the top was the final piece. The car had been a “slick top and never had been fitted for one,” he said.

The plan is to use it at events and car shows. Smith, now 19, is also considering renting the car out for proms and events, he said.

“My friends and family love the Crown Vic although they did think it was a crazy idea when it first happened,” Smith said of the purchase. “My mum did have faith in me though. She is very supportive.” (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED 8/25/2025-6AM)

4 Replies to “Caryville Police Car turning heads in the United Kingdom”

  2. That is a story that makes me smile all over! My hometown, the village that cradled me —Caryville, represented in the UK! I have a niece in London. Hope she will see this car someday!!

  3. When I saw this cruiser on a Facebook police car group page, I just had to contact Alfie! I had a great sense of hometown pride to see a police car from Caryville well represented in England, especially since I was detective at the Caryville police 25 years ago. So, I contacted WLAF about Alfie and Susan Sharp wrote a wonderful human interest story about this unique situation. I am mailing Alfie some memorabilia to go with his showing this cruiser at car shows. Let us all hope he wins a trophy or two.

  4. Very proud, thanks for publishing Susan it was a pleasure, if anyone would like to contact me you can find me on facebook

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