Police Recover Stolen Car--in Their Possession

Police didn’t have to look far when a woman reported her car stolen--they were the ones who took it.

Officers drove off in the woman’s car, which was parked in a police lot, when they mistook it for an unmarked police car. It was used as part of an undercover operation to arrest prostitutes Monday night.

Sgt. Debbie Setzer said the two cars looked similar and were made by the same manufacturer. The keys that police officers were given for the unmarked vehicle started the woman’s car, so they thought they had the right one, she said.

A short time later, a police assistant took a report of a stolen car that had been parked in the police lot. The victim said she thought her car would be safe there.

The same police assistant spotted a car in the police parking lot later that night that matched the stolen vehicle. He checked the license plate and vehicle identification number--it was the stolen car.

The assistant asked around the department and learned that the car had been used by officers posing as prostitution customers.

“We called the stolen car victim and told her we had some good news and some bad news,” Setzer said. “The good news is that we recovered your car. The bad news is that we stole it.”

The victim didn’t complain.

“She was a peach about it,” Setzer said.