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Owner of Sacramento sheriff's office patrol car in Poland uses it to raise money for charity

Owner of Sacramento sheriff car in Poland shares his story
Owner of Sacramento sheriff car in Poland shares his story 02:24

SACRAMENTO – A little over a month ago, a video of a Sacramento County Sheriff's Office car cruising the streets in Poland went viral. Now, the car's owner has been tracked down and he shared his story.

The viral video had millions asking what the car was doing in Gniezno, Poland, and who was driving it.

It wasn't easy, but after reaching out to a bunch of random car club members in Poland, Slawek Poniewiera and his friend, Marta, were tacked down. He says this all started with American TV.

"He fell in love with American cars when he was a kid when he started watching movies," said Marta, who helped interpret.

He said his car is a retired Sacramento County Sheriff's Office vehicle, which are usually stripped down and auctioned off when the department is done using them. It took him about six months to get it.

"He was watching a movie and there was a car from the Sacramento Police Department and he fell in love with the colors, the way the police cars looked," Marta said. 

Unlike the U.S., you can have a car like this in Poland as long as you have the proper license plates. But it's what he uses the car for that would make the department proud—Poniewiera travels around raising money for charity.

"He loves to do it," Marta said. "He does it very often and people really like the way the car looks and they hope they can go inside and take a ride."
 
The bottom line is it makes people happy, something he hopes you are when you see his story.

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