Watch: Wyoming cop transforms 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air into police car

By Ashley Silver
Police1

THERMOPOLIS, Wyo. — Thermopolis Police Officer and car enthusiast Dood Jaussaud transformed what some would consider a relic 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air into his very own police vehicle.

Wyoming News reported Jaussaud had been wanting to own a police car long before becoming a police officer himself: “I’ve actually wanted a cop car before I even applied for the sheriff’s office and started in law enforcement. When my grandpa passed away, we went to a car show the day after his funeral. I took his truck, my red truck that I have, was his little truck. They were raffling off a police department car in Mills, so I tried to get it.”

Jaussaud eventually decided it would be better to find or create his own and became interested in the 1957 Bel Air model.

“I like the wings on the back. Pretty unique cars. I’ve been looking for it forever,” Jaussaud told Wyoming News. “I finally found one in Columbus, Montana, I get in the truck, I drive up there, I buy this car, I bring it home and it needs a lot of work. It needs bodywork. It’s rusty. And we put three motors in it, and all three of them turned out to be bad. We spent hours and hours doing motor swaps. Finally put a motor in it that worked well.”

Jaussaud acquired the car and parts from a man who hadn’t touched the vehicle since 1975. He put nearly $31,000 into the vehicle and plans to use it for special events and charities, as well as promoting the police department and law enforcement.

While the vehicle is quite an achievement, he’s not sure it will be used in the field to solve crimes just yet: “According to Wyoming State Statute, yes, it is a marked police patrol car, which means it meets all the requirements to be a police car. But it hasn’t like gone through town council or anything. So nobody said ‘no.’ That’s what I can tell you right now. I’m not pushing anybody, but I keep hinting toward Chief of Police Pat Cornwell, and Pat hasn’t told me no,” Jaussaud said.