Brothers Bid For Piece Of Father's Legacy, Win Despite Losing

Cameron Aubernon
by Cameron Aubernon

Five years after losing their father in the line of duty, Tanner and Chase Brownlee did their best to win his retired squad car at auction.

Weld County, Colo. Deputy Sheriff Sam Brownlee was on duty when he lost his life in 2010 at the end of a police chase, KMGH-TV reports. Five years later, the Brownlee brothers set out to claim his father’s work vehicle, a Dodge Charger, at auction Wednesday evening.

At the time the auction began, Tanner planned to use funds from his GoFundMe page to bring the car home, only to find himself severely outbid as the auction wore on.

However, the winning bidder — Steve Wells — quickly handed over the keys to Tanner seconds after putting $60,000 on the car, catching him off-guard.

Both proceeds from the auction and the GoFundMe page will go to Concerns of Police Survivors, an organization providing services to survivors of LEOs killed in the line of duty.

[Photo credit: KMGH-TV]

Cameron Aubernon
Cameron Aubernon

Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.

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  • AoLetsGo AoLetsGo on May 15, 2015

    :)

  • IndigoCoyote IndigoCoyote on May 16, 2015

    Dammit. Just when I was getting comfortable being jaded and complacent. Now I have to go ahead and actually give a damn again. Good on ya, Mr. Wells. And good on you trying to avoid the spotlight as best you could. And if the county doesn't occasionally give you a get out of ticket free card there really IS something wrong with the world, not that that is why you did it.

  • VenomV12 VenomV12 on May 16, 2015

    Nice job, very very nice job.

  • Richard Richard on May 16, 2015

    Should that not be: brothers' bid? With an apostrophe meaning the bid of the brothers.

    • Drzhivago138 Drzhivago138 on May 16, 2015

      Not in this case. The convention of "no articles in headlines" can at times be problematic. Here the headline reads "Two brothers bid for a piece of their father's legacy; they win despite losing."

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