BOONE, N.C. — Officers with the Boone Police Department are hitting the streets in style with a new patrol car design.
The department hosted a county-wide competition in August 2022 for a new design for police vehicles. The goals for the design were to capture the landscape of the Boone area while remaining professional and approachable.
In total, there were 50 designs submitted to the department officers, who then narrowed down the submissions to five that would be considered for the new design. The five designs were also shown to the town council for approval.
The winning design was submitted anonymously by the owner and operator of Carolina Custom Designs, Marty Shue, an Ashe County-based graphic design company.
Shue chose to keep his entry anonymous until the announcement due to his relationship with the community and the police department. His son, Caleb Shue, is currently an officer in the department.
The final design features the Appalachian Mountains, which surround the valley where Boone is situated. The stars below the mountains have a special meaning; the gray stars represent Watauga County officers who died while in service, working but off-duty. The white stars represent Watauga County officers who were killed in the line of duty.
On the rear windows of both sides of the vehicle, there are subtle American flags.
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