The Los Angeles police cadets suspected of stealing three cruisers and leading officers on wild vehicle chases this week had made themselves unauthorized police uniforms and had driven at least one of the stolen patrol cars more than 1,000 miles, according to police sources. Police Chief Charlie Beck said at a press conference that three teen police cadets-ages 15, 16, and 17-are now in custody on suspicion of stealing those cruisers and theft of other property.
Authorities say suspects stole two Los Angeles police cruisers and led officers on wild pursuits that ended when both vehicles crashed.
An investigation later led police to the third missing patrol auto, parked near the department's 77th Street station, Beck said.
The three were arrested on Wednesday after two pursuits ended in crashes.
Beck also appealed to the public for help: the cadets may have impersonated officers, he said, so if people saw any "very young-appearing" officers recently in Los Angeles, they need to contact police.
Beck says he's ordered a full review of the cadet program and the department's procedures for managing its cars and equipment. Two Tasers, two police radios and a bulletproof vest were also recovered during the investigation, he said. It wasn't immediately clear how the third suspect was involved in the incident, but Beck said the three suspects - one female and two males - were working together. The third stolen vehicle was only recovered after the teens gave officials its location. He said the teens accessed the SUVs by signing the vehicles out of stations using the names of existing officers, one of whom was on vacation.
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The confirmed death toll from the fire has risen to 30, according to BBC , with as many as 76 people still missing. Authorities have not yet issued a figure and have said they genuinely don't know how many people might have died.
They were not identified because they are minors. Cadets are not allowed to drive LAPD vehicles.
No firearms went missing, and there were no weapons in the stolen cruisers, according to Beck.
Authorities are still trying to work out exactly when the cars were taken, but Mr Beck said investigators were looking into the possibility that at least one of them had been missing since May 28. Thousands of young people between 13 and 20 have participated over the years. "We're going to take this apart top to bottom". Currently, about 2,300 cadets are enrolled. "You can be charged with impersonating a police officer even if no one was harmed by your actions and you derived no benefit from them".
The program isn't limited to kids who want to become police officers.
Some officers were concerned that news of the thefts would taint what is otherwise a productive program.
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