Lorain man accused of trying to steal Amherst police car

AMHERST, Ohio - Officers arrested a Lorain man they say tried to steal an Amherst police car on Tuesday.

The incident happened outside the police station just before 7 p.m. while an officer was leaving to check on a car crash.

According to a news release from the Amherst Police Department, the officer noticed a man sitting in the driver’s seat of police car 107 with the doors locked. Officers tried to unlock the cruiser’s doors, but were unable to remove the man from the car.

Police said the man, 38-year-old Peter Theado, of Lorain, used the computer inside the cruiser and the police radio to ask dispatch how to put the car in gear. Theado told officers he wanted to take the car out on “patrol” to protect the people of Amherst, the news release said.

He then told police that he wanted to be a police officer, but was disappointed that he couldn’t get the car in drive, Amherst police said.

The police department said the cruiser was not running at the time. The keys were inside, but the car had a security system.

Theado was charged with criminal trespassing, attempted grand theft, obstruction of official business and unauthorized use of a police computer. He was taken to the Lorain County Correctional Facility.