Man steals Hamilton police car after being pulled over

Jasmin Kereopa / Facebook
Jasmin Kereopa / Facebook

A man has been caught on camera stealing a police car in Hamilton after being pulled over - forcing the officers to give chase in the man's car.

Jasmin Radford filmed the incident on Monday afternoon while she was parked outside her work.

She says she saw police pull over a car, then get out and start talking to the man and woman who were inside it.

The man from the car was then pushed into the back of the police car, Ms Radford says.

Police then went back to the car they'd pulled over to talk to the woman. That's when Ms Radford saw the man make his move.

"I saw the guy who was in the back of the police car climbing over the seat - then he drove off in the police car."

Ms Radford's footage has been viewed thousands of times on Facebook since she posted it.

"I just put it on Facebook 'cause I wanted my friends to see what I just saw," she says.

Ms Radford says the man even put the police car's lights and siren on as he drove off.

The bewildered police officers then got into the man's car and sped off after him.

"It's not something you see every day - I was excited. I went and told my boss!" she laughed.

Police have confirmed Ms Radford's version of events. Inspector Greg Nicholls, Hamilton City Area Commander, told Newshub that police located the stolen vehicle shortly after it was taken.

They know the identity of the man and are currently attempting to locate him.

Asked for her response to the incident, Minister of Corrections Judith Collins jokingly told Newshub: "it's a good thing I'm building some more prison cells." 

Newshub.