Conroe Courier October 13, 2023

In his 28-year career with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Sgt. Charlie Sullivent has been behind the wheel of a 1991 Chevy Caprice car, the modern SUVs in today’s fleet and everything in between.

The differences between the 90s-era patrol cars and today’s SUVs could be considered as wide as the bench seats of the large-bodied Caprice. 

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“The changes in the cars and their technology not only show the evolution in law enforcement but in cars in general,” he said. 

While planning for the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office museum, which opened to the public in March, Sullivent felt the evolution of the patrol units was a big part of the 185-year history of the sheriff’s office and he wanted to have several cars on display at the museum. 

The museum opened with a 2007 Crown Victoria patrol car, a 2014 Dodge Charger and a 2011 Chevy Tahoe that was used as a K-9 unit on display out front. Soon, a donated 1991 Chevy Caprice will join the trio. 

As the museum developed over the last 10 years, donated memorabilia was categorized by the sheriff of that era who set the style for his time in office. 

The museum was a passion project for Sullivent’s colleague Det. Fadi Rizk, who started collecting items from retired sheriff’s personnel and widows of agency employees in 2016 as a way to share the agency’s rich history to his colleagues. 

Until late 2022, the items were displayed in a hallway in the administrative wing at the county jail at the sheriff’s office main law enforcement complex. 

The earliest artifact in the museum dates back to the early 1900s. Rizk said their original plan was to display car doors like the Harris County Sheriff’s Office museum. 

This was around the same time the sheriff’s office was auctioning off the last Crown Victoria cars from the fleet. The sheriff’s office often has auctions to sell off patrol units no longer fit for service. 

“I knew we had to act fast,” Sullivent said. Sullivent is an admitted “car guy” and wanted the whole car for the experience. 

The car represents the era when Guy Williams was sheriff from 1993 to 2005. The unit still has the rotating police lights in the light bar and is absent of today’s technology. 

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The Dodge Charger is from when Tommy Gage was sheriff from 2005 to 2017. Sullivent said Gage is known for ushering in the Dodge Charger as a standard for the department and its design where the stripes come to a “V” on the hood. This unit features LED lights and technology is introduced such as a laptop mount. 

Gage also started the motorcycle unit and one of the motorcycles from that era is on display inside the museum. 

Rizk likened the experience of driving the Charger to sitting in a race car that wraps around the driver unlike the roomier Crown Victoria. His first car with the office in October 2006 was a Chevy Impala with Guy Williams striping leftover from the previous administration. 

The current administration of Sheriff Rand Henderson is represented by the Chevy Tahoe. Sullivent said the SUV has become the standard police vehicle across the country. 

The Caprice will represent the Joe Corley era from 1981 to 1993. 

Sullivent drove a 1991 Chevy Caprice as his first patrol car with the agency and looks forward to showcasing the car from his early policing era to highlight the differences between the 1990s vehicles and today’s modern units.

The car is currently being retrofitted into a patrol car from that era and they hope to have it on display by the end of the year. 

Sullivent’s ultimate quest is for a patrol car from the Gene Reaves era from 1961 to 1981. He’s most likely looking for a Chevy four-door car that they would paint brown and have the Gene Reaves silver badge placed on the door. 

“They don’t make those anymore, but if we could get one, it would highlight even more how the patrol cars have changed over time,” he said.

Rizk said the permanent plan is to create a covered pavilion at the back of the museum where the patrol units would be displayed and visitors could have an interactive experience with them. This is in the planning stages. 

The museum is at 2359 Holloman Street in Conroe near the sheriff’s office administration building. It is open from 10 a.m. go 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

See the museum’s website for more information.Â