The Richmond County sheriff’s office has sent out a media release to address a viral video that shows a young woman in a “stolen” patrol car.
From the sheriff’s office: “The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office is aware of a Tik Tok video that showed a civilian female sitting in the driver’s seat of a Richmond County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle alluding that it was stolen. The Criminal Investigation Division initiated an investigation into this matter and determined the patrol vehicle was not stolen. The investigation is still ongoing and no further information will be released at this time.”
The press release comes after tens of thousands of people viewed the original TikTok video with a caption: “POV: YOUR BESTFRIEND STOLE A POLICE CAR.” The original was removed from the TikTok account of @ammarietammera but not before someone saved it and shared it on Facebook.
Some residents suggested the woman shown in the driver’s seat was the daughter of the deputy who uses the patrol car. Others demanded a response from the sheriff’s office since it involved the use of taxpayer-funded resources.
Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Pat Clayton said it was obvious to him that the video was “fake” and argued that the video was not worthy of a news report.
“It may be entertaining, but to me, that’s not news,” he said.
As for how the woman came to be in a police car and operating the power window to lower it, Chief Clayton said residents frequently asked to sit in a patrol car, turn on the blue lights or activate the siren. He said the deputy probably had his eyes on the woman.
“So we are accommodating to do that,” he said. “It was not vehicle theft. Nobody took control of the car and drove the damn thing. … I think if we had a cruiser stolen, it would be reported, don’t you?”
Here is the video:
