Vancouver Police are investigating a stolen cruiser incident, after a woman took off in a marked police car last night in the Downtown Eastside.
Around 1:30 a.m., police were patrolling the Downtown Eastside in a marked police car when they saw a fight at the corner of Columbia and East Hastings Street. Officers turned on their lights and siren, causing the aggressor to run away. They parked their car in the south lane of the 100 block of East Hastings street and ran after the man, ultimately arresting him around the corner, in the 100 block of East Hastings Street. When officers returned, minutes later, to the location where their vehicle was parked, a woman had bypassed the vehicle’s immobilizer and stolen the car.
Police were able to track the vehicle by GPS to East Hastings Street and Willingdon Avenue in Burnaby, where the car had collided with a building. The driver, who was located and arrested a short distance away by Vancouver Police, was uninjured in the crash.
All items were accounted for inside the vehicle when it was recovered.
The woman believed to be responsible for the theft is facing charges of theft over $5,000 and possession of stolen property.
The man involved in the initial fight has been arrested on a Canada-wide warrant for break-and-enter.
Burnaby RCMP are investigating the collision at East Hastings Street and Willingdon Avenue. Vancouver Police will be investigating the theft of the police vehicle.
