Police vehicle stolen

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A police car was reportedly stolen in Killdeer over the weekend while it was parked outside 2 7/8 bar, according to the Killdeer Police Department. It was located a short distance away.

Bar manager Sheri Gibson said she was not at the bar when the vehicle was stolen on Friday, but employees told her what happened.

“In the course of the evening we had a couple of fights,” Gibson said. “One punched some guy sitting at the bar and then they took it outside. They were asked not to come back.”

She said the officer came in with a woman who was kicked out of bar earlier that night, but wanted to look for a lost wallet.

“In order for her to come back, she called a cop to bring her here,” Gibson said. “So he walks into the bar with her and when he got ready to leave, he goes out and his car was gone.”

Killdeer Police Chief Warren Hoffman said other officers located the vehicle about a half mile away.

“We’re thinking what happened was they took it as a joke,” Hoffman said.

He said the vehicle was in one piece.

“I was just happy they found the vehicle and there was nothing wrong, there were no dents, it wasn’t in a washout,” Hoffman said. “Thank God no one was hurt.”

He said police are still looking for the person who took the vehicle.

“It had to have been someone who had been in the bar,” Gibson said, though she said she didn’t know who.

Hoffman said it is not unusual for an officer to leave their keys in the car.

“Most of the time what happens when you do a bar check is you lock your vehicle up,” he said. “But when you’re in pursuit or doing anything real quickly, you don’t take the time to lock things up — you go ahead and run after whatever it is you’re dealing with.”

Tags: news, local, bar, killdeer