To Serve and Protect and Knit

I was driving after work last night when this next story takes place. I was approaching the intersection where I was going to turn left. Up ahead, on the street that I was about to turn onto, I spotted a police car. I immediately ran through my mental list that I run through EVERY time I see a police car:

Do I have my seat belt on?
Am I speeding?
Did I renew my license plates?

Do I look suspicious?

I was pulling through the left turn with an eye on the police car and I noticed that I couldn't see the driver. "How odd," I thought. Upon a closer, staring-at-you look, I realized that the driver was (probably) not police, because the driver was a little old lady. When I say "little old lady" I mean like this:

Now...I'm not sure what was going on, if this woman had legal rights to drive the police car (it looked like a new police car, not a Blues Brothers situation),

if ANYONE is allowed to drive a police car, or what. Like, if my husband or brother were a cop--could I drive the police car??? Was she a cop in disguise, coming home from her undercover gig??? Is the city selling their old patrol cars?? If so, I'd like one. I think it would make my neighbors much more accommodating in our little silent parking war.