Catalytic converters stolen from San Francisco Police Department vehicles

Melissa Hernandez
Updated
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 17: Pedestrians cross the street by a San Francisco police car where an officer is standing guard in Chinatown on March 17, 2021 in San Francisco, California. The San Francisco police have stepped up patrols in Asian neighborhoods in the wake of a series of shootings at spas in the Atlanta area that left eight people dead, including six Asian women. The main suspect, Robert Aaron Long, 21, has been taken into custody. The San Francisco Bay Area is also seeing an increase in violence against the Asian community. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
A San Francisco police car in Chinatown in March 2021. Multiple police cruisers in the city have had their catalytic converters stolen. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

The San Francisco Police Department has become the latest victim of catalytic converter theft.

Around 1 p.m. Monday, an officer noticed that one of the department's marked trucks parked on Potrero Hill had its catalytic converter stolen, police said in a statement. After further inspecting the department's other vehicles, it appeared that three other marked cruisers — another truck and two vans — were also targeted, according to police.

Thieves targeted the department's Special Operations Bureau building, which is at 17th and Haro streets and houses many of the department's vehicles, Mission Local reported.

No arrests have been made and the investigation is still ongoing.

Catalytic converter thefts have been an issue in California during the pandemic. Thieves are able to drill out the small but valuable device from a car in just a matter of minutes, and sell it for a high price, with recyclers paying $50 to $250 per converter, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

In the early hours before the San Francisco Police Department was targeted, one of its officers was injured after he was hit by a car while trying to stop two suspects from stealing a catalytic converter, KGO-TV reported.

Anyone with information in either case is urged to call the San Francisco Police Department tip line at (415) 575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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