Someone stole a Los Angeles police cruiser out of Exposition Park on Wednesday evening, and the department got it back roughly 60 miles away, in Orange County, ABC7 reports.
What happened
The theft occurred shortly before 8 p.m., near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Figueroa Street, close to BMO Stadium, where LAFC was hosting Real Salt Lake. The vehicle was a black-and-white Crown Victoria, the workhorse patrol car that is still a familiar sight on Los Angeles streets.
One reassuring detail the department was quick to establish: there were no weapons inside the stolen cruiser. Police cars can carry firearms and other equipment, and a stolen one that is also armed is a far more serious problem than a stolen one that is not. This was the latter.
The chase, mostly from the air
From there it became a tracking exercise. The cruiser was spotted heading south on the 110 Freeway, and the LAPD's airship, AIR7, worked to follow it from above, the kind of aerial pursuit that is close to routine in a region built around freeways. The car was ultimately located in San Juan Capistrano, deep into Orange County, and a suspect was taken into custody after the recovery.
The department did not release the suspect's name or say how the car was taken in the first place, and those details, along with what charges follow, will come later.
A small story that could have been a bigger one
It is worth being clear-eyed about what this is: a stolen-vehicle case that ended quickly, with the property recovered and someone in custody. Nobody was reported hurt.
But the reason a stolen patrol car draws notice, beyond the novelty of thieves helping themselves to the police's own fleet, is what such a vehicle represents on the road. A marked cruiser in the wrong hands can be used to impersonate an officer, and even an empty one is a liability until it is back in the department's control. This one was recovered the same night, which is the best version of the story. The Herald will note the charges when they are filed.
