Dramatic bodycam footage has been released showing the moment 41-year-old Sarantis Parissos stole a South Australian Police patrol car during a routine traffic stop in Adelaide.
Parissos pleaded guilty in the District Court earlier this week to stealing the vehicle in December 2021, as well as a separate 2022 incident in which he ran down a female police officer with a stolen SUV in Fulham.
The 2021 theft took place on Copley Street in Broadview, with police bodycam footage capturing the chaotic scene as officers attempted to detain Parissos.
The footage, released by a judge and obtained by 7News Adelaide, shows a female officer instructing a woman to stay seated before abruptly turning her attention to Parissos as he sprinted towards her patrol car.
“Get here, stay there, do not move, sit down, sit down, sit down!” the officer yells, moments before Parissos jumps into the vehicle.
As the suspect starts the engine, the officer can be heard shouting, “Get the f*k out of the car now!”** while a male officer joins the pursuit, urgently commanding, “Get out of the car!”
Despite their efforts, Parissos and a female passenger, both wearing motorcycle helmets, speed off in the stolen patrol car.
In a frantic call to dispatch, the female officer reports: “35 urgent assistance, our vehicle has been taken … heading east towards Hampstead Road, lights and sirens on. They’ve headed north, Hampstead Road, we need northeast patrols, PolAir.”
Both officers were flung from the vehicle during the struggle but were left uninjured. Following the high-profile police chase, Parissos was eventually apprehended.
He is now due back in court next month for sentencing submissions related to both the 2021 patrol car theft and the 2022 Fulham police assault.
