The son of a Colorado deputy killed in the line of duty owns his father’s patrol car thanks to rancher with a heart of gold. <br /> <br />Tanner Brownlee was quickly outbid when his father’s beat-up Dodge Charger was put up for auction Wednesday in Greeley, Colo. <br /> <br />“I was sitting there. I had a set amount that I was gonna do,” Brownlee told Fox & Friends Saturday. “As soon as it went past that, I was…I just kind of gave up hope.” <br /> <br />Brownlee watched local rancher Steve Wells purchase the vehicle with a whopping $60,000 bid, five times the car’s book value. <br /> <br />Then Wells did something incredible, Denver ABC reported. <br /> <br />Wells said, “Tanner, here’s your car,” and gave him the keys. <br /> <br />“I couldn’t even find words,” Brownlee said on Fox & Friends. “As soon as he handed me the keys I shut down and I couldn’t believe it. <br /> <br />“I got up. I shook his hand. I hugged him. I was just crying. I couldn’t find words to express it.” <br /> <br />Brownlee was 15 when his father was killed in 2010 after he and other officers pursued a suspected car thief into a subdivision after a high-speed chase. During the struggle the suspect grabbed Brownlee’s gun and shot the deputy three times, the Denver Post reported in 2011. Another deputy shot Brownlee’s killer. <br /> <br />Sam Brownlee was the first member of the Weld County Sheriff’s Office to die on the job in 70 years. <br /> <br />Brownlee and his colleagues put a lot of hard miles on the Charger. It had 147,000 on the odometer when it went up for auction. It was being sold to raise money for C.O.P.S., a fund for widows and orphans of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. <br /> <br />Tanner Brownlee started an online fundraising page to bid on the vehicle. He raised $3,000, hoping that would be enough. It wasn’t even close. <br /> <br />Wells turned out to be a man of few words after his good deed. <br /> <br />As he watched Brownlee get behind the wheel of the car, he declined an interview request saying he didn’t want to take away from the moment. <br /> <br />Brownlee said he and his brother Chase are going to use their father’s vehicle as a “cruising car.” <br /> <br />“I’m so excited,” he said. “I’m going to try to keep up on that car, keep it as long as I can.”
