According to Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand, a 22 year old man stole a marked police vehicle this morning just after 6 am.

Normand says that a Fourth District patrol division officer was investigating a suspicious person complaint in the 2500 block of N. Woodlawn in Metairie, the officer returned to find that his marked JPSO had been stolen.

Less than ten minutes later, the Jefferson Parish 911 center was notified by the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office that a white male was driving police unit erratically on the Mississippi river levee. St. Charles officers responded to the complaint and observed the suspect drive the unit into the Mississippi River. He was apprehended a short time later while swimming in the river.

Colonel John Fortunado with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office says the cruiser was not running at the time it was stolen, and “the officer had his keys in his pocket.”