A pickup truck with “Booty Patrol” painted on it drew the attention of Florida law enforcement, which in turn has drawn ridicule from many on social media.
The Chevrolet Silverado truck is painted green and white, with a resemblance to a U.S. Border Patrol truck. But it has “Booty Patrol” painted on all sides of the truck bed and the doors read “National Booty Behavior Protection Program.”
In an initial Facebook post last week, the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office warned the public of a vehicle equipped with red and blue lights “that has been impersonating law enforcement” in DeSoto County and in several other Florida counties, as well.
The post asked anyone who had been pulled over by the “suspicious” vehicle to contact the sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division.
In a follow-up post, the sheriff’s office said they had located the truck and its owner, issuing the driver a citation for violating a Florida law regarding lights prohibited on vehicles. They again referred to the truck as a “suspicious vehicle.”
As it turns out, the Booty Patrol truck is well-known to many in the DeSoto County area and has been on display at numerous car shows. The truck’s owner, Gabriel Luviano, frequently posts about the truck on his Facebook page.
Luviano said he had never tried pulling anyone over, according to the Miami Herald.
Facebook users, meanwhile, were not impressed with DeSoto County’s detective work.
“It’s a little sad to see this happening to the car community,” wrote one commenter. “This is just merely a show truck. Always has been. Never seen him have his blue lights on and seen him all over DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota county.”
“I’ve also seen this truck several times at events,” wrote another Facebook user. “It’s purely for entertainment and laughs.”
The incident has drawn widespread media attention in Florida and elsewhere.
“Way to go DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office,” read another comment. “You are now NATIONALLY famous for being DUMB and PETTY.”
Some questioned whether the accusations against the owner were accurate.
“Please post one instance where this vehicle ‘pulled over’ anyone,” a Facebook user wrote. “Any one at all. One single verifiable instance of this happening. I would hope you have an actual report before you slandered this person. Also, the tag is in the photo. This is embarrassing for you.”
Others were unimpressed with the use of county resources to locate the truck.
“What a great way of using county funds,” read one comment.
“Your tax dollars hard at work!” read another “I’m sure there’s no serious crime they could be enforcing instead of booty patrol crackdowns.”
