Yet another fire truck has been stolen, this time in Sacramento, California. It’s the latest installment in a sad trend we’ve been watching for some time as thieves swipe idling first responder vehicles, leading police on senseless chases.
Watch a fire battalion truck get into an accident with a car.
We’re only now hearing about the incident which took place on May 18, thanks to a report from KCRA. After the fire truck was stolen, a California Highway Patrol helicopter tracked its movements, directing police on the ground.
Officers performed several PIT maneuvers on the fire truck, surely damaging it and thus costing taxpayers plenty in repairs. We’re not saying police shouldn’t have pitted the vehicle, just we’re noting this incident was likely expensive.
Finally, the suspect was cornered by police and surrendered after pepper balls were deployed. The only thing we know about the suspect is their age: 32. That’s old enough to know better.
Something similar happened in Sacramento about five years ago, with thieves leading police on a chase after they jumped in an idling fire engine and took off. While police were able to stop the pursuit, blowing out at least one of the fire engine’s tires, KPIX noted in its coverage of the incident the fire engine was value at $1 million.
And that’s the rub: thieves are easily stealing incredibly expensive first responder vehicles with ease. Why has nobody done anything about this problem?
While fire truck theft isn’t happening all the time all over the place, it’s happening often enough. Combine that with thefts of police cars, ambulances, and other first responder vehicles and we think there’s a compelling case to outfit them with a simple yet effective anti-theft device.
We know there are ways to keep a vehicle idling yet prevent just anyone from jumping in and putting the transmission into gear. Why hasn’t this been effectively sold to municipalities, counties, and states?
Image via KCRA 3
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