Sheriff’s Patrol Car Is Stolen During Search
A Riverside County sheriff’s squad car was stolen Tuesday afternoon by two men who had been placed in the back seat while their vehicle was searched, authorities said.
The officer had stopped the car about 5:30 p.m. on a northbound offramp to Interstate 215 at Ethanac Road, said Deputy John Kaiser, a sheriff’s spokesman.
Sheriff Bob Doyle said the officer didn’t handcuff the suspects, but placed them in his own car because “they were making furtive motions.”
The deputy found a gun in the suspects’ car, and when the men heard him calling for backup, one kicked out the back window, jumped in the driver’s seat, and took off, Doyle said. The car was recovered undamaged nearby.
Police were still searching for the men Tuesday night. The deputy had obtained the driver’s license of one.
Doyle said he had recently ordered protective plexiglass to be placed in the rear windows of all squad cars.
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