A brazen would-be thief found himself out of his depth when he tried to steal a bike that was locked outside a police station.
Police in the US released CCTV footage of the bizarre moment which resulted in the masked man being arrested just metres away from the front door of the station.
The incident happened in the city of Gladstone, Oregon on December 27.
Sergeant Carl Bell of the Gladstone Police Department told ABC News: “I have not actually seen anything that blatant because the officers were inside watching on video camera.
“The camera that you see is actually in our office.”
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Sgt Bell said that when the would-be thief was asked why he would try to steal a bike in front of a police station, he would not answer.
A 26-year-old man was arrested on the spot and later released to appear in court at a later date, charged with theft, criminal mischief and possession of a weapon.
The CCTV footage shows the suspect approaching the bike and crouching down in front of it, apparently carrying bolt cutters to break through the lock.
A police officer then appears from the front door of the station and confronts the suspect, he makes a very brief attempt to make his escape.
The officer pushes him against the wall and orders him to get onto the ground.
After being cuffed on the floor while another officer assists, the man is searched an unmasked before being led away.
Gladstone police posted the video on Facebook after the incident, saying that the officer confronted the suspect, who was wearing a hood and had covered his face, with a taser.
Sgt Bell added: “People stealing bikes isn’t rare; it’s just where he did it at this time kind of caught everyone off guard.
“Kind of made us chuckle you know.”
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