Seattle Police Arrest Patrol Car Theft Suspect

Seattle police have arrested a man they said stole a Seattle Police patrol car early Thursday morning in the Rainier Beach neighborhood.

It started around 2 a.m. with a burglary call at Wing Luke Elementary on South Kenyon Street. Police arrested a man there, handcuffed him and placed him in the back of the squad car.

Police told KIRO 7 the officer walked away for a moment and somehow the suspect managed to get into the front seat and drive away.

Officers found the car abandoned near a park at 51st Avenue South and Ruggles Street. They said they searched the area for about two hours with K-9 units and a helicopter but could not find the man.

Around 6 a.m., police arrested the 33-year-old man at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way South and South Trenton Street, about a half-mile from the elementary school.

Police said the patrol vehicle was not damaged and the equipment inside it has been accounted for.

It’s not clear if the screen divider in the back seat was down or if the man managed to lower it.

Police said the man has a long criminal history that includes robbery and residential burglary.