A New York Police Department police officer faces discipline after leaving keys in the ignition of a cop car, which allowed a thief to steal the car and crash it.
Authorities said that the officer left the keys in the ignition because he figured someone from the night shift would take the car, reports the New York Post.
“He assumed somebody from the midnight shift was going to take that car. That didn’t happen. So the police officer who left it there and the desk sergeant are going to both be disciplined,” Police Commissioner James O’Neill announced Monday.
According to a police source, the car was left in the lot behind the police station and the parking lot does not have a gate.
“It was kind of a stupid mistake, poor guy,” the source told the New York Post. The source alleged that squad cars are regularly left idling.
The officer left the key in the ignition early Sunday morning; the car thief came by and took the car for a four minute joy ride. He crashed the cop car into four other parked cars, police said.
The Hispanic suspect, who has yet to be named, then hopped into a black Lincoln Town car and took off.
“It’s PD 101: Don’t leave the keys in the car. It’s just like losing your gun — failure to safeguard,” a police source told the New York Post.
The officer also violated a warning police officers routinely give civilians, “Never leave the keys when you exit the vehicle — even for a minute!”
O’Neill said while both officers will be punished, he does not know what type of discipline they will face.
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