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Irregular News for 08.30.06
Winnipeg, Canada -- A brazen thief, believed to be the first person to successfully steal a Winnipeg police car, dodged cops twice yesterday before ditching the hot wheels on a core-area street and getting away on foot.
After a series of near-misses -- including a short car chase during which the suspect shouted obscenities at police over their own radio system -- police were still looking for the suspect, described as a skinny 17-year-old male, at press time last night.
The car, an unmarked white Crown Victoria, was stolen from outside an officer's house about 5:45 a.m. yesterday and then recovered in the core area after the thief abandoned it about 1 p.m.
Const. Jacquie Chaput, a Winnipeg police spokeswoman, said no police cars are equipped with immobilizers, but the service is reconsidering that policy now that one of their cars has been stolen -- for what is believed to be the first time.
"I've heard of people getting into the front by squeezing through from the back but I don't think we've ever had a cruiser stolen. I think this is a first," said Chaput. "We're re-evaluating whether we're going to be installing immobilizers in our vehicles. There have been discussions prior to this, but this definitely puts it to the forefront."
Chaput said the locked car, an administrative vehicle used by staff at the Winnipeg police training academy in Westwood, was broken into about 5:45 a.m. yesterday while it was parked outside an officer's River Heights home.
She said the officer takes the vehicle home from work because there is no secure parking area at the training academy, a building the police service rents.
LOCK BROKEN
"(The thief) didn't have the keys so he obviously used an alternative form of getting it started," said Chaput.
Police guarding the ditched car on Laura Street yesterday made no attempt to hide from reporters the fact that the driver's door lock had been broken and part of the ignition switch had been damaged.
The car contained no weapons or computer but did have a GPS system that wasn't activated because it had to be logged-on to do so.
The car was spotted near McPhillips Street and Jefferson Avenue just before 6 a.m. and cops began to chase it.
Although the stolen car had no sirens or emergency lights, the thief did activate his "wig-wag" front headlight flashers and taunted cops over the radio during the three-minute pursuit. Police tried to stop him by tossing out a spike belt, but the thief avoided it and then gave them the slip.
Although he spent awhile broadcasting more obscenities over the police radio, he wasn't seen again until about 12:30 p.m., when cops spied him near Manitoba Avenue and Charles Street and tried to stop him.
He took off, though, and about a dozen police units were dispatched to catch him. He once again eluded cops and ditched the car on Laura between Logan and Alexander avenues.
A police dog followed a trail to a small bungalow on nearby Pacific Avenue and the house was swarmed by cops, but no one was home, and the police quickly dispersed.
Police were still looking for the suspect at press time. He is described as a thin native male, about 17 years old, 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds, with a thin face and very short dark hair.
A spokesman for Manitoba Public Insurance said Crown Victorias do not often appear on the list of most frequently stolen vehicles because they aren't the easiest to steal. He also said MPI would support putting immobilizers in police cars.
source
Winnipeg, Canada -- A brazen thief, believed to be the first person to successfully steal a Winnipeg police car, dodged cops twice yesterday before ditching the hot wheels on a core-area street and getting away on foot.
After a series of near-misses -- including a short car chase during which the suspect shouted obscenities at police over their own radio system -- police were still looking for the suspect, described as a skinny 17-year-old male, at press time last night.
The car, an unmarked white Crown Victoria, was stolen from outside an officer's house about 5:45 a.m. yesterday and then recovered in the core area after the thief abandoned it about 1 p.m.
Const. Jacquie Chaput, a Winnipeg police spokeswoman, said no police cars are equipped with immobilizers, but the service is reconsidering that policy now that one of their cars has been stolen -- for what is believed to be the first time.
"I've heard of people getting into the front by squeezing through from the back but I don't think we've ever had a cruiser stolen. I think this is a first," said Chaput. "We're re-evaluating whether we're going to be installing immobilizers in our vehicles. There have been discussions prior to this, but this definitely puts it to the forefront."
Chaput said the locked car, an administrative vehicle used by staff at the Winnipeg police training academy in Westwood, was broken into about 5:45 a.m. yesterday while it was parked outside an officer's River Heights home.
She said the officer takes the vehicle home from work because there is no secure parking area at the training academy, a building the police service rents.
LOCK BROKEN
"(The thief) didn't have the keys so he obviously used an alternative form of getting it started," said Chaput.
Police guarding the ditched car on Laura Street yesterday made no attempt to hide from reporters the fact that the driver's door lock had been broken and part of the ignition switch had been damaged.
The car contained no weapons or computer but did have a GPS system that wasn't activated because it had to be logged-on to do so.
The car was spotted near McPhillips Street and Jefferson Avenue just before 6 a.m. and cops began to chase it.
Although the stolen car had no sirens or emergency lights, the thief did activate his "wig-wag" front headlight flashers and taunted cops over the radio during the three-minute pursuit. Police tried to stop him by tossing out a spike belt, but the thief avoided it and then gave them the slip.
Although he spent awhile broadcasting more obscenities over the police radio, he wasn't seen again until about 12:30 p.m., when cops spied him near Manitoba Avenue and Charles Street and tried to stop him.
He took off, though, and about a dozen police units were dispatched to catch him. He once again eluded cops and ditched the car on Laura between Logan and Alexander avenues.
A police dog followed a trail to a small bungalow on nearby Pacific Avenue and the house was swarmed by cops, but no one was home, and the police quickly dispersed.
Police were still looking for the suspect at press time. He is described as a thin native male, about 17 years old, 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds, with a thin face and very short dark hair.
A spokesman for Manitoba Public Insurance said Crown Victorias do not often appear on the list of most frequently stolen vehicles because they aren't the easiest to steal. He also said MPI would support putting immobilizers in police cars.
source
