Even for a hardened criminal, this move must require a set of very heavy cojones: a woman from Nashville, Tennessee, was trying to steal a car and, when prevented, she stole the police cruiser instead.
The Nashville Police department says in a release that 31-year-old Jennifer Stewart is currently in custody after successfully stealing a police cruiser at a local car wash. It happened when a police unit responded to a call of an attempted carjacking.
Someone called 911 to say that a woman was trying to steal another person’s car, so police intervened, prying Stewart off her victim. She was placed in handcuffs and into the back of the police cruiser, as is customary, while the officers talked to the victim, to gather more information.
That’s when Stewart noticed a window of opportunity and she took it. “A review of surveillance video showed Stewart appear to crawl through the divider from the back seat into the front seat of the patrol car. Stewart drove off in the police vehicle,” the department says in the release.
She almost got away with it, too. Police were able to stop her and retrieve their vehicle after deploying spike strips. An investigation is now underway to determine how exactly she was able to steal a police car right from under the cops’ nose. Some disciplinary action may be on the way, if the officers are found partly responsible.
“Stewart, of Ocala Drive, is charged with burglary of a motor vehicle, evading arrest, vehicle theft, and vandalism. She is being held in lieu of $37,500 bond,” the release adds.
The report doesn’t say why Stewart was in such a hurry or whether she was under the influence when it happened. Neither does it mention the kind of damage done to the patrol car in the pursuit.
Someone called 911 to say that a woman was trying to steal another person’s car, so police intervened, prying Stewart off her victim. She was placed in handcuffs and into the back of the police cruiser, as is customary, while the officers talked to the victim, to gather more information.
That’s when Stewart noticed a window of opportunity and she took it. “A review of surveillance video showed Stewart appear to crawl through the divider from the back seat into the front seat of the patrol car. Stewart drove off in the police vehicle,” the department says in the release.
She almost got away with it, too. Police were able to stop her and retrieve their vehicle after deploying spike strips. An investigation is now underway to determine how exactly she was able to steal a police car right from under the cops’ nose. Some disciplinary action may be on the way, if the officers are found partly responsible.
“Stewart, of Ocala Drive, is charged with burglary of a motor vehicle, evading arrest, vehicle theft, and vandalism. She is being held in lieu of $37,500 bond,” the release adds.
The report doesn’t say why Stewart was in such a hurry or whether she was under the influence when it happened. Neither does it mention the kind of damage done to the patrol car in the pursuit.