A former security guard stepped in when he came across a man under the influence taking a police car for a joy ride in California.
Chris Marzan thought he was about to be pulled over by a Sacramento police officer, until he saw the cruiser crash into a nearby parking lot, reports KCRA. He quickly realized he wasn't dealing with a police officer.
“I then saw an individual – a male – get out of the vehicle wearing gray sweats, black shirt, and I’m like, ‘He is definitely not an officer.’ He gets back into the patrol car, so I double back,” he recalled.
The driver, who authorities say was 22-year-old Zachary Samaha, stepped out of the vehicle to grab a beer from the market. Marzan swooped in and made a citizens arrest, placing handcuffs on him.
Marzan said he used caution since he did not know whether or not the driver was armed.
Following the incident, Marzan said that he didn’t consider himself a hero.
“Last night I took the opportunity to count my blessings and thank God for keeping Christian, myself and all others safe from what could have been a more serious situation with someone being injured or killed,” he added, speaking on the safety of his son during the incident.
Sacramento Police are investigating the theft of their patrol car.
“I don’t know why anybody would commit such a crime. We are looking into it right now, and we’re looking at our policies and procedures if there are any lessons learned from this event,” Sgt. Vance Chandler said.
Stolen SacPD Vehicle, Sacramento, CA#BREAKING Stolen Police Car #SouthSacramento #Video SacPD Investigates Possible Stolen Police Per unconfirmed department radio traffic, around 7:15 p.m., the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department responded to the A-1 Market on Sunnyslope Drive near Florin Road. A caller was reporting he had a subject detained who was seen driving a fully-marked Sacramento Police Department patrol vehicle and was involved in a minor collision. The detained subject did not appear to be a police officer, per the caller to the Sheriff's department. A spokesperson for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department does confirm their deputies responded to the business and found a fully-marked patrol vehicle, and did detain a subject. The patrol vehicle and detained subject were handed off to the Sacramento Police Department for their investigation, according to the Sheriff's department spokesperson. A spokesperson for the Sacramento Police Department does confirm they are investigating the incident. The spokesperson was unable to provide any further details at this time due to the investigation just starting. We will post an update when one is available from either of the departments involved in this investigation.
Posted by Public Safety News Network on Sunday, January 7, 2018
He added a word of thanks to Marzan for his actions.
“We do need the help from the community. They’re our eyes and ears out there, so we are appreciative that we got the call, and we are very fortunate that nobody was hurt,” Chandler said.
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