A barefoot and shirtless man in California casually stole a police cruiser Friday afternoon and led cops on a 40-mile chase. Naturally, there is video.
It all began when officers responded to a report of vandalism at Marysville Boulevard and South Avenue shortly after 12:30 p.m., according to Sacramento police. A caller reported to the police that a man chased her with a big stick and hurled a bucket at her tire. The man then allegedly struck the caller’s window with a stick.
In a video posted online, police officers pursued the man through an open field near Marysville Boulevard. Somehow, the barefoot and shirtless suspect evaded the officers and came upon two police cruisers. The suspect attempted to open the doors of a locked police car. Then he walked over to another cruiser, unlocked the door through an open window, and drove off.
The stolen police cruiser had a rifle inside of it
After stealing the police cruiser, officers realized on the radio that the suspect now had access to a police firearm.
“The suspect does have a rifle from the patrol car and he is holding it out the window,” a pursuing officer said during the chase, according to ABC 10 News.
“Whether this rifle was actually removed from the safety lock by the suspect, that will be a part of the investigation as well. We’ll figure out if that had happened, how it happened, but those weapons that are in the vehicle are locked up,” said Officer Anthony Gamble, spokesman with the Sacramento Police Department.
On Saturday, CBS News reported the police stated that the suspect fired a shot from a rifle from the vehicle and that they were adding an additional firearm-related charge.
After taking the police cruiser, the suspect then led police on a pursuit with speeds reportedly reaching 100 mph down Highway 99 into Sacramento. The California Highway Patrol eventually took over the chase. It ended near Lodi, more than 40 miles away from where it began, where the culprit surrendered without incident, according to investigators.