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“Find a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” This may or may not have been originally said by Mark Twain, but it’s pithy enough to have come from him and the more fortunate among us can attest to its truth. The saying seems to apply to the refurbisher of this retired cop car found at curbside looking mighty fine. The car attests to both his automotive and law enforcement passions. More on that story following a look at Chevrolet’s last great police cruiser*.
The arc of police cars more or less follows the arc of performance cars in general: gradual improvement in the postwar years peaking around the late sixties, then rapid devolution in the 70’s to a pathetic level by the early 80’s, then gradual improvement again. Add the factors of fleet buyers looking for the most cost effective products buying in relatively small numbers but highly visible in the public eye and you get the rather convoluted police car market.
Chrysler dominated the space until the late 80’s when they finally stopped making their increasingly less competitive Diplomats and Gran Furys. At least motorists no longer had to worry which kind they would get when pulled over: the Diplomatic cop or the Grandly Furious cop? Chevrolet had since the mid 80’s been making big improvements in their Caprice police package (a.k.a. Coprice or RPO code 9C1), becoming the dominant player by the time Mopar exited the market.
1991 Caprice in front of Sam Houston statue
When GM gave the Caprice a jellybean smooth new body for 1991, they continued to offer a highly competent police package, even if it made officers feel like they were driving a whale or an upside down bathtub. The available-only-with-9C1 5.7L small block LO5 V8 had 195hp (fuel injected since 1989), the new seats were very comfortable, and the dash had one of the most spacious, legible and useful gauge clusters ever. When GM’s “downsized” B platform originally debuted in 1977, Caprice/Impala handling was considered excellent for a large car when equipped with the F41 suspension upgrades. Chevy engineers had improved on that in recent years, to the point the car won Motor Trend’s Car Of The Year for the second time in 1991 (1st in 1977) based in part on the excellent handling of the LTZ “touring” package (and the fact Import Car Of The Year was still separate). The LTZ had the 9C1 chassis, but not the 9C1’s 5.7L engine (the 5.7 would finally become available in the LTZ for 1993).
For 1994, GM consolidated their V8 powertrains, giving all rear wheel drive cars the same basic powertrain to include Corvette, F-bodies and B-bodies. This was good news for B-bodies, which now got the LT1 Generation II Small Block and 4L60E transmission which had debuted in the Corvette for 1992. There were some differences as applied in the three platforms, but the bottom line is that the Caprice got a 55hp/30lb-ft bump. Combined with the longstanding excellent suspension and brakes, Chevy now had what many considered the best police car of all time*. That includes the legendary powerhouses of 20-30 years earlier, which had the speed but not the overall roadability, comfort, or safety of the modern Caprice.
Chevy engineers taking final lap at the 1996 MSP evaluation.
From 1987-1996, the Caprice won the top rating each year in the annual Michigan State Police comparison testing of all police package vehicles, the results of which are used by departments nationwide when selecting what to add to their fleet. In the mid 90’s large sedan and wagon sales were heading down while SUV sales were heading up, so the General rationally converted the B/D factory in Arlington, Texas to make Tahoes and Yukons. After a 20 year run, the last “downsized” B body was built in December 1996. All over North America, police officers pretended the tears were from something that got in their eyes.
1994 Caprice California HP
The Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor took over the police market by default for the next 15 years. While the Ford was an adequate patrol cruiser, many agencies sought to keep their Chevys in service as long as possible. In the new millennium, a small cottage industry sprung up refurbishing Caprices for police departments to extend the life of their Chevrolet fleets. Our subject car originally served Pasadena, California until 2015 (!), when it was sold at auction with 196k miles. The dry, mild climate in the City Of Roses undoubtedly contributed to the car’s longevity, though surely a nearly two decade service life had to be an intentional choice by an agency that valued it.
Houston Police Officer Jason Knox grew up with a dad who was a Houston Police Officer. He knew that was the career he wanted from an early age, becoming a LEO in a couple smaller departments before getting hired by Houston in 2012. He also grew up with an interest in cars and history, so joining his passions by collecting vintage police cars was a natural hobby for him. When he bought the Pasadena Caprice, despite the final bid of only $700, he found it had been maintained well and was in solid mechanical condition. It took him a couple years to get it ready for public display with new paint, decals, vintage radio, mobile data terminal, etc.
The car was completed in 2018 and attended its first big event at that year’s Thanksgiving parade, which is where I spotted it.
The paint is the correct Columbia Blue used by HPD at the time. Blue patrol cars in Houston go back to at least the early 60’s. HPD went to white with a blue stripe in 1999 and black and white after that, so seeing a cop car in that color today is a real nostalgia trip for many residents.
Knox shipped it to Washington D.C. and traveled there to participate in the 2019 National Police Week.
The 96 9C1 project worked out well enough that Knox acquired a 1988 Caprice with 75k miles and completed a cosmetic refurb and HPD transformation in 2019. I don’t believe this car is an actual 9C1, though I haven’t been able to confirm that.
I had no idea what the story was on the car when I saw it in the parade. It was my lucky day as I found it parked behind City Hall afterwards. It would have been nice to meet Officer Knox and get the backstory on the car and a few more photos, but he was not around. I later found a newspaper article that filled me in on its private ownership.
With the fresh paint and decals, it looked almost new.
A newspaper photo of Knox in his car shows that the interior was in pretty good shape, too. All the center stack equipment is period appropriate, including the billy club (which is timeless and effective, I’m told).
Knox took flight lessons as a kid, flying solo and getting licensed at age 16. With a passion for flying, he took a big step towards his ultimate goal to become a police helicopter pilot in 2019 when he was accepted into the department’s Air and Marine Division as a tactical flight officer (spotting, not piloting). Pictured above is a proud daddy with his two kids.
At 02:00 a.m. on May 2, 2020, Knox and his partner, pilot Senior Officer Chase Cormier, responded to a call to search for a “possible drowning” in Greens Bayou (Houstonspeak for canal or small river) in the Greenspoint area. Flying low, the 2008 MD 369 went into a spin and lost control.
The copter crashed into an apartment building, which fortunately was unoccupied. Officers at a nearby homicide scene heard the crash and rushed to the site. Despite the danger from a large amount of spilled fuel, officers didn’t hesitate to try to help their trapped comrades but the job required the fire department for extrication. Once out, the officers were rushed to Memorial Hermann Trauma Center, where Knox was pronounced dead and Cormier ultimately survived serious injuries.
Greenspoint goes by the nickname Gunspoint and is one of the rougher areas in a city with no shortage of rough areas. Witnesses said they saw people shooting in the air that night, but the NTSB found no evidence of bullet damage to the chopper. In fact, they were unable to determine any cause of the crash, mechanical or otherwise. As to the drowning, no one was ever found in the bayou. That cursed night in Greenspoint remains a mystery.
Eight months later, the destroyed MD 369 was replaced by a new Airbus H125. The FAA registration number is Officer Knox’s retired badge number, which was fortuitously available. Above is the ceremony where the police chief and mayor dedicated the new helicopter to Knox, joining the fleet of approximately 16 aircraft. The thin blue stripe at the rear edge of the white, not present on other aircraft or vehicles, is in his honor. The 88 Caprice sits in the background.
Knox hoped to eventually have a police car from every decade, in the appropriate HPD models with historically accurate paint, markings and equipment, until Tragedy intervened. He remains the only HPD member to die flying, though he joined a long list of Line Of Duty deaths.
The cars live on, though. Jason’s wife and family maintain them and regularly attend public events with one or both. The screenshot above is the televised Thanksgiving Day Parade, where the cars returned in 2022 for the first time in three years. They serve not only as a great community outreach but now also as a fitting memorial for a man who loved his job and loved life. An embodiment of Twain’s maxim about work to be sure.
Since I couldn’t find it online, the MSP victory lap photo was scanned from the book Chevrolet Police Cars by Ed Sanow and attributed to Tom Yates. This book was also the source of much technical detail.
*Police Package Postscript: The asterisk on best police car of all time is because that title is not so clear now…
2017 Caprice PPV, with 362hp L77 (LS) 6.0L V8, the last Chevrolet police package sedan.
Dodge came out with the Charger Pursuit in 2006 and Chevy with the Holden-based Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle (PPV) in 2011. The Crown Vic was cancelled in 2011, but Ford has since come out with Taurus and Explorer Police Interceptors that are very competitive and have been big sellers in the police market. Chevy’s police package Tahoe has also been refined extensively and is currently popular, not withstanding its high weight and expense. All of these modern vehicles are objectively superior performers boasting significantly faster acceleration and road course times than the beloved old Caprice, with more powerful engines and 21st century suspensions, steering, tires, brakes, and most available with all-wheel-drive. Better subjectively than the LT1 9c1’s? I guess you’d have to ask an officer who’s been on the job since the 90’s.
related reading:
1995 Caprice 9C1 brochure – lists standard and optional equipment and specs for the police package. Many people would be surprised to hear that the cop cars’ engine, transmission and suspension are generally not ruggedized over the retail versions. Most significant 9C1 improvements are in the frame, cooling, tires, and seating, though there are dozens of differences.
COAL: 1995 Chevrolet Caprice 9C1–Corvette Power BY JERSEYFRED –
COAL: 1991 Chevrolet Caprice 9C1 – The Crapiece BY DANIEL STERN
COAL: 1991 Chevrolet Caprice 9C1 – Certified Speedo BY RAY YTUARTE
Thank you for posting this, Jon. As a native Houstonian this story means a lot to me. There have been and are law enforcement officers in my family. I admire and am grateful for the service these men and women give to their communities.
Jon, this is an excellent history essay on the Chevy Police Cars. More than that, it is a touching tribute to Jason Knox. Thank you for bringing an American hero to the CC for us all to learn about Jason Knox.
Informative and touching story, Jon. Excellent. Thank you.
Great story and so sad to read about Officer Knox’s death.
I’ve put a fair amount of miles behind the wheels of the 9C1 police package Chevy’s in my time. But to be honest, more was in the 9C1 Lumina and then Impala front drivers. I got out of that line of work before the Charger or Caprice PPV (Holden) came into the mix and thankfully before departments all started going to those huge SUV’s. I seriously dislike any SUV’s, but I will give credit in that they can be useful tool boxes for law enforcement. But I’ll agree that I believe the 1988 to 1996 Caprice 9C1’s were the best with an emphasis on the 1994-1996.
On another note, having grown up and worked as a LEO in Illinois, and having a background in the automotive world before going into police work, my department sent me each year to the Michigan Squad evaluation program. It was absolute great fun and watching those highly trained MSP test drivers doing the testing was a memory I’ll never forget.
Wow, how fun that must have been to get to go to the MSP trials! A gearhead cop’s dream assignment, I would imagine.
Jon: Yes, it was quite fun for the first few years. Then it got kind of boring to be honest. Towards the end I went more for the fellowship and food and less for the cars. lol.
I could see how it could get less exciting with time. Still, way better than most anything else one could get paid to do!
Yes, these are fantastic cars, I still prefer the ’77/’78’s that L.A.P.D. had, they all came with 350 CID V8 engines .
-Nate
FWIW, the 350 engine was available on every 1977-96 9C1 Chevrolet. However, some years did offer smaller engine options. The 4.3L V6, 305 L03 and the 4.3L V8 L99 were offered for a few years each, but the majority of the 9C1 cars had 350s.
Wow – what a story. I had re-read the paragraph of Officer Knox’s passing; it’s just hard to believe.
There’s a 1980s-era Crown Vic patrol car around here that frequents local car shows and parades, and I’ve always assumed it belonged to the County police department, but maybe it’s a story similar to Mr. Knox’s, that it belongs to an enthusiast who restored it himself. Most impressive to me here is the interior filled with period-correct electronics. Really neat stuff.
I miss those light-blue (and other uniquely-colored) police cruisers. The white cars that predominate these days may be cheaper to buy, but are pretty dull, and it’s nice to be able to tell at a quick glance what jurisdiction the car belongs to.
Thanks for sharing Officer Knox’s story and accomplishments with us.
Jon, thank you for sharing this story. It is sad to hear the tragic end to Officer Knox, in particular since he left a couple of young children behind. It is nice to see the family is keeping the cars alive in his memory.
The Caprice 9C1 was IMO one of the all-time police car greats. From its introduction in 1986 to it end in1996 it was an excellent police car and arguably top police car during that period. That picture of the 1996 Caprice at the MSP trials was flying the flag because it won every category in the MSP test regime. Everyone today goes on about the P71 Crown Vics, and forgets the Caprice. Once day I’d like to own a genuine 9C1 Caprice, although maybe not in police livery (a Detective special would be more up my alley). I like them all, but the 1989 or 90 would be my top choice.
I kind of followed Officer’s Knox’s idea with a police car from each decade. I have a model car collection, and one part of my display is some four police cars. I have one from the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s – a 1974 Dodge Monaco, a 1989 Chevrolet Caprice, a 1996 Chevrolet Caprice and a 2001 CVPI. IMO, each was the best of their generation.
One last note, that second last side profile picture of the Caprice is an excellent photo. While I know the whale body Caprices aren’t loved for their styling, IMO it is a great looking police car in that shot. And it also goes to show how much the styling changes improved the looks of the car in comparing it to the side profile shot of the 1991 Caprice above.
Thank you.
I would love to get a 89 or 90 9C1. I had at one time a 94 ex Texas DPS car and then a 95 ex Fremont, CA LT1 9C1s. They were pretty great, but I always had an itch for a boxy one that was never satisfied.
I agree with you that while no beauty queen, from some angles the 94-96 version of the Caprice is a good looking sedan. I liked that 96 side profile shot so much, I stuck it in at the end even though I didn’t really have a place for it. I also think the 94 CHP picture looks really cool.
That change they made to the quarter glass for the 1995 and 1996 model years really made a difference with how the whole car’s perceived. If the rear wheel well was open and the quarter glass shaped like that in 1991 the car might not have been given it’s unfortunate beached whale nickname.