{"id":57532,"date":"2023-03-15T12:47:14","date_gmt":"2023-03-15T16:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/?p=57532"},"modified":"2023-03-15T12:47:19","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T16:47:19","slug":"why-are-nypd-cruisers-driving-through-lehigh-acres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/2023\/03\/why-are-nypd-cruisers-driving-through-lehigh-acres\/","title":{"rendered":"Why are NYPD cruisers driving through Lehigh Acres? "},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A New York City Police Department (NYPD) cruiser was recently spotted cruising through the streets of Lehigh Acres.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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Dawning a baby blue paint job and big decals that read \u201cPOLICE\u201d and \u201cNYPD,\u201d the car has been turning heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe color definitely catches your eye,\u201d said Carly Phetterplace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would\u2019ve done a quadruple take,\u201d added Eric F. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The car was spotted on Lee Boulevard in Lehigh Acres on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joey Leyva snapped a picture of the cruiser and posted it online, asking what they\u2019re doing all the way down here in Southwest Florida.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cUhm. I would have some questions,\u201d Phetterplace said. \u201cWhat exactly are they doing here?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n

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She\u2019s not alone. Dozens of people commented on the picture, each adding their own two cents, but also wondering why NYPD would be more than 1,000 miles away in Florida. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It turns out, the police car isn\u2019t here looking for fugitives or even filming movies. Actually, it\u2019s not even from New York. The police cruiser is part of the Southwest Florida 10-13 Club, a group of retired NYPD officers that represent the badge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just paying respect and doing things for the people,\u201d said Frank Caldara who owns the cruiser spotted on Saturday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caldara served the New York City Police Department for seven years. When he retired here in Florida, he bought the cruiser in 2019 and transformed it into a vintage NYPD car. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis color was from the 70s and 80s,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s nostalgia right there. That\u2019s the old New York City Police Department cars,\u201d added Eric F. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group has not just one, but two police cruisers. The other has the modern NYPD paint scheme, but a big label that says the vehicle is retired and part of the SWFL 10-13 Club. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what does that club do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are a retired law enforcement club to support our members, other members of law enforcement,\u201d said Brian Sheehan, the Vice President of the SWFL 10-13 Club. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They participate in everything from memorial services to parades. That\u2019s exactly where Caldara was driving home from on Saturday when the picture was taken. The retired officers took part in the annual Naples St. Patrick\u2019s Day parade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were thousands of people in Naples,\u201d Caldara said. \u201cThey loved us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not all fun and smiles though. The group\u2019s name, 10-13, has a meaning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe 10-13 is our call for help,\u201d Sheehan explained. \u201cIn retirement, 10-13 means we\u2019re still here for each other.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That call now means honoring a fallen brother or sister at their funeral. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re 1,300 miles away from New York City,\u201d Sheehan said. \u201cWe still didn\u2019t forget you. We\u2019re there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo me, it feels like a priceless thing we can do for the family,\u201d added Caldara. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are more than 100 retired New York City police officers that belong to the Southwest Florida chapter, making it one of the biggest in the Sunshine State. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a beautiful thing right there,\u201d Eric F. said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might see them out and about and they might even make your heart skip a beat if you\u2019re speeding. But just know, they\u2019re here to take a picture with you, not pull you over. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A New York City Police Department (NYPD) cruiser was recently spotted cruising through the streets of Lehigh Acres.\u00a0 Dawning a baby blue paint job and big decals that read \u201cPOLICE\u201d… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":57534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,32],"tags":[2226],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57532"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57532"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57535,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57532\/revisions\/57535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}