Regina Police have charged an 18-year-old woman after she allegedly stole a police cruiser.

On Wednesday around 5:30 p.m. police responded to the area of 8th Avenue in Regina to a call of a female in distress. Officers found she was not in distress but drove her to a home where she said she could stay with people she knew. While officers were confirming that she was indeed welcome to stay, they say she climbed into the driver’s seat of the patrol vehicle. An officer tried to get her out of the vehicle but after a short struggle she was able to drive away.

The cruiser was tracked by GPS and at 6:05 p.m. the patrol car slowed in traffic then was involved in a minor accident at Dewdney Avenue and McCarthy Boulevard which is when Sydney Budden was arrested and charged with Theft of a Motor Vehicle, Operate a Conveyance Dangerous to the Public and in Possession of Property Obtained by Crime over $5,000.

She is in Regina Provincial court this morning.