The hot-pink police cruiser you may have seen around Owensboro isn’t all about turning heads. While its color does stand out, its purpose goes deeper than looks.
The Real Men Wear Pink campaign is part of the American Cancer Society’s fundraiser toward support, treatment, and research for breast cancer. This is the Owensboro Police Department’s second year supporting the cause, and it’s Sgt. Adam Johnston’s first year being the face for OPD’s part in the campaign.
“It’s a good cause anyway, but this one hits close to home,” said Johnston, who lost his grandmother to breast cancer.
Sgt. Johnston, a 17-year veteran of OPD, said that the car operates as a normal police vehicle, but that they try to avoid driving it too much.
“It looks so good, so we try not to use it,” said Johnston. “We can if we need it.”
The car boasts pink doors, a pink roof, pink center caps on the wheels, pink lettering across the rear windshield, and the signature symbol for breast cancer awareness–a giant, pink ribbon on the hood.
While it isn’t taken on the streets very often, the vehicle serves as a promotional tool for breast cancer awareness. The vehicle mainly gets used as events such as National Night Out, which was recently hosted by OPD.
“DMC Graphics agreed to wrap it to help us promote the event,” said Officer Andrew Boggess. Sgt. Johnston added that DMC did the work for free, just to help support the Real Men Wear Pink campaign.
