These Boys Were Trying To Buy Their Deceased Dad’s Car And Got Something Even Better

When Weld County Deputy Sheriff Sam Brownlee was killed in the line of duty five years ago, he left behind two teenage sons. This week those sons attended a police auction to try to buy their late father’s beloved squad car. They were quickly outbid, but then they and the rest of the world got something even better: A renewed faith in humanity.

According to The Denver Channel, Tanner Brownlee was just 15 when his father died. He and his brother, Chase, were hoping to buy their father’s car as something to remember him by. The Dodge Charger had 147,000 miles on it and a blue book value of $12,500. Tanner started a GoFundMe page to raise money to buy the car, but it reportedly only raised around $3,000 as of the start of the auction. Bidding on the car was surprisingly active, and it was over the car’s blue book value in minutes.

Tanner and his brother did not specify how much they had to bid with, but they were quickly out of the running when the auction got up to $50,000 and then $60,000. The car sold for $60,000 to a local rancher named Steve Wells, whom the Brownlees had never seen before. But when the auctioneer handed the keys to Wells, Wells turned around and handed them to Tanner.

“Tanner, here’s your car,” he said.

Tanner reportedly cried at the auction, and now it’s raining on everyone’s faces.

“It means so much to me,” he said.

The squad car was part of a police auction to benefit C.O.P.S., or “Concerns Of Police Survivors,” a charitable organization for the families of police officers killed in the line of duty. Wells’ $60,000 will go to that charity, and Tanner says he’ll be donating the GoFundMe money there as well.

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