In restoring his old patrol car, ex-trooper in Palm Harbor is rejuvenated

PALM HARBOR

According to anyone who grew up in the 1970s, Jerry Miller owns a vintage bubble gum machine. He also owns the 1971 Indiana State Police patrol car it is mounted atop.

Miller and that Mercury Monterey go way back. And they've ridden somewhat rocky roads to get to where they are today.

He was disabled in a near-catastrophic, on-duty traffic crash in 1991 and retired to Palm Harbor with his family in 1995.

The car, meanwhile, has taken a somewhat more circuitous route to find its way back to him.

"I was flabbergasted that out of all the Mercurys purchased in '68, '69, and '71 through '74, I found Commission 5141," Miller said. "It gave me the spirit and drive to complete the car. As far as I know, it's the only one Indiana purchased that survived. I wanted to restore it to its original condition, because you have to remember the past to appreciate the future."

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In 1971, fresh from Indiana state trooper recruit school, Miller worked the highway scales under the wing of Sgt. Claude Trent. Trent drove the then-new Mercury Monterey, known as Commission 5141. It was the first car Miller rode in for duty.

When Commission 5141's odometer clicked to 25,000 miles, it was reissued to rookie Trooper Jim White. White was Miller's friend and eventually became godfather to his son.

"They never issued a rookie a new car because they always wrecked them," Miller said. "In 1973, the state sold Jim's car at auction."

Miller has the document showing it sold for $980.

Then, in 1987, Miller was working as a security planner for the Pan American Games in Indianapolis and found what looked like an old state police car.

"I tracked down the commission number and called it into the garage," Miller said. "When they told me who it had been assigned to, I said it can't be. Check it again. Turned out it was Jim White's car — the first car I drove as a trooper."

He immediately bought the car and began acquiring parts. But in 1991, any plans Miller had for the car changed.

"I'd stopped a violator for speeding and was taking notes in the car," Miller said. "I heard an explosion and a Mack truck and trailer swung me around. I started out facing downhill on pavement and ended uphill in the grass with the car collapsed in on me. I couldn't get out."

Miller spent three hours in the emergency room and a year in physical therapy.

"They told me I had a total body whiplash," Miller said.

After 20 years as a state trooper, he was placed on disability.

• • •

In 1995, he moved his family to Florida and donated Commission 5141 to the Indiana State Police Historical Museum in Indianapolis.

When he returned to Indiana in 2006 to celebrate his mother's 80th birthday, he stopped in to see the car on display.

It was nowhere to be found. The museum curator called Miller two days later. They didn't have money or time to restore it. So Miller took it back.

"It was a mouse house at the time," Miller said. "Out in the open for 10 years with the windows gone. I had it towed to Florida."

His daughter remembered the car being a mess when she was a teenager.

"I didn't want anything to do with it," said Amanda Zawada, 23. "Now I'm proud of what Dad's done. The car's become a member of the family."

Investing $4,000, Miller and his son located another Mercury and used the parts to replace Commission 5141's entire interior from the dashboard to the seats to the trooper radio.

Weighing in at about 5,000 pounds, the car has VASCAR, the equipment that used distance and time to track speeders; a spotlight on the driver's side dash; and a fire extinguisher inside the gigantic trunk that once held flares, riot equipment, orange cones and Miller's raincoat.

• • •

Today Miller struggles with Parkinson's disease, but doesn't let it keep him or the Mercury idle. He exhibits Commission 5141 in classic car shows and parades and drives the car wherever he goes. He simply removes the Indiana State Troopers magnetic striping from the door panels.

Yet people don't need to see the classic cop car to know when Miller's ready to roll. The deep rumble of the 429 Police Interceptor engine turns heads.

"He does most of the work on it himself," said Curtis Zawada, Miller's son-in-law. "And you can hear the car in the morning when he goes fishing."

In 1971, Commission 5141 was a luxurious car for troopers, according to Miller. But that wasn't the point of restoring it.

He wanted the car to be authentic, a genuine example of Indiana State Trooper history. Like Miller himself.

"Jerry is a great guy with one heck of a sense of humor handling all the obstacles he's encountered in his life," said Mike Paretyka, 59, of Palm Harbor, an outboard motor mechanic and friend. "He is a real sincere guy.

"If he tells you he's going to do something or be somewhere, you can count on it. And there aren't many guys like that around."