March 14, 2004

EDMONTON -- Wet and wearing only swimming trunks, a 19-year-old man stole a city police cruiser Saturday, smashing the car into a road sign and running through yards before a police dog nabbed him.

The bizarre incident began about 9:20 p.m. at O'Leary Leisure Centre at 8804 132nd Ave.

A west-end police officer was working special security duty when some swimmers became rowdy.

His marked police cruiser was apparently running when he called the police dispatch center for help, Sgt. Guy Kinney said.

The police car was abandoned near 88th Street and 131st Avenue after it struck a sign and crashed into a yard.

Around 9:45 p.m., a police officer and his dog found the slim, six-foot teenager hiding in the backyard of a home near 88th Street and 130th Avenue.

"He was very intoxicated," Kinney said of the 19-year-old man. "He was kind of passing in and out."

The teen was treated at a health center for exposure and a dog bite to his elbow.

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© The Edmonton Journal 2004