10/24/15 San Francisco, CA – Man With Knife Steals Patrol Car – Injures Officer Trying To Stop Him – High Speed Long Chase – Shots Fired – Hits Many Civilian Cars – Crashes On Bay Bridge

October 24, 2015

sfgate.com

A man sought by police allegedly stole a San Francisco police car in the Marina district Saturday morning, leading officers on a long chase throughout the city that ended with shots being fired on Treasure Island.

While police chases are somewhat common, ones involving stolen police cars are not.

“Throughout my career it has happened maybe once before, and I have been in law enforcement for 27 years now,” Deputy Chief Hector Sainez said at a news conference Saturday afternoon.

The incident began at 8:15 a.m., when San Francisco police responded to reports of a man with a knife at Chestnut and Lyon streets. But when an officer approached the suspect, whose identity has not been released, the man reportedly jumped into the police car, used the keys still in the vehicle’s ignition, and took off.

While trying to prevent the theft, an officer sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to San Francisco General Hospital for treatment, police said in a statement.