Polish police to begin using Mustang sports car seized from drink driver

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Police in Poland are set to begin using a Ford Mustang sports car that was seized from a drink driver. The car, which can accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds, will be used by officers dealing with road offences.

Images of the car in police livery have drawn huge attention online, as well as a lot of disinformation. The authorities have denied claims by an opposition politician that the car will be used by the interior minister, as well as fake images suggesting that the police have already crashed the vehicle.

@maciekkrogulec Nowy radiowóz policji 🚔 #mustang #policja ♬ original sound – тгк: prod. starly

In April last year, police stopped the driver of a red Mustang. A test revealed he had a blood alcohol content of about 0.23%, more than 11 times above the legal limit of 0.02%.

In September, a court banned him from driving for three years and issued him with fines totalling 8,000 zloty (€1,875), reports news website Interia. In addition, under a 2024 law that allows the cars of serious drink-driving offenders to be seized, it also ordered that his car be forfeited to the state.

Instead of auctioning the car, which is worth around 150,000 zloty, prosecutors requested that it be handed over to the police, who will use it for combating road offences, reports Polsat News.

Last week, a video showing the car in police colours and markings being transported on a trailer appeared on TikTok, where it has been viewed over 1.5 million times. Broadcaster RMF reports that police in Mazovia province, where the capital Warsaw is located, will officially unveil the vehicle this week.

Although police in Poland have already made use of confiscated cars, this will be the first time a Mustang – the famous brand produced by Ford since 1964 – will go into service.

The news quickly prompted a series of false claims. On Saturday, Waldemar Buda, a politician from the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party and former government minister, claimed that the Mustang would be “the new official car of [interior] minister Marcin Kierwiński”.

That claim was immediately rejected by government spokesman Adam Szłapka, who called Buda “incompetent”, a “liar” and a “fraudster”.

The same day, police in Mazovia shared a fake image being widely circulated on social media that suggested the police-liveried Mustang had already been crashed.

“We want to reassure everyone – this is FAKE NEWS,” wrote the police. “The car is intact and in good condition.”

“By the way, we remind everyone: drive responsibly and never get behind the wheel under the influence of alcohol. Otherwise, you might find that it’s your car that ends up in the hands of the police and gets used to ensure the safety of other road users.”

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: maciekkrogulec/TikTok (screenshot)

Olivier Sorgho

Olivier Sorgho is senior editor at Notes from Poland, covering politics, business and society. He previously worked for Reuters.