Citizen Makes Arrest of Alleged Cop Car Thief

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Sacramento police confirm a man stole a police car near Stockton Boulevard and Riza and took if for a wild ride Saturday night.

The incident was captured on dash cam. Not police dash cam, but that of a regular citizen, Chris Marzan, a former security guard, who just happened to see the stolen Sacramento police car driving erratically. The suspect crashed the car onto a curb on Stockton Boulevard around 7 p.m.

"He peels out and now he's going southbound against northbound traffic," Marzan says.

Marzan calls dispatch and decided to follow the stolen cruiser as the suspect pulled into an apartment complex and finally the A-1 Market liquor store on Sunnyslope near Florin Road. The man got out and goes inside. Marzan hesitated to follow, thinking the suspect may have a weapon.

"He waved at me. He had sweats and was barefooted and I thought, oh man, this guy," he said.

But after getting a good look, Marzan felt confident he could take him down.

"I had a safety kit in my car that had handcuffs from a long time ago when I did security. Pulled those out, and as soon as I went in, I had my flashlight. First thing I said was 'get down on the ground,' he complied, he had a 40-ounce malt liquor in his hands, he had it open, he was ready to drink it. He says, 'you got me,' and laughs as I take him to the ground," Marzan said.

Marzan held the man in cuffs until police arrive and took 22-year-old Zachary Samaha into custody.

Police say the cruiser was stolen near Stockton and Riza as the officer was responding to a call.

"We're constantly evaluating and looking at our procedures. We'll do the same with this incident looking at our procedures and policies to see if there's any areas we need to change or any lessons learned" said Sgt, Vance Chandler with the Sacramento Police Department.

As for citizen hero, Marzan does not encourage others to do the same.

"Because of my training and experience, I felt comfortable doing that, but I don't recommend anyone doing what I did at all, " he said.