Mexico City cop caught with his pants down, loses car to drunken bandit

Here’s a bit of handy advice: when you stop to pee on the side of the road, bring your car keys with you.

When a Mexico City cop pulled his cruiser over to the side of the road to relieve his bladder — a $300 fine under Mexican law — a drunken passerby slid behind the wheel of his idling cop car and sped off into the night, leaving officer Alan Estrada in a rather vulnerable position.

The officer quickly zipped up his pants and radioed other cops with what must have been one of the more embarrassing calls he’s had to make in recent days. A high-speed chase ensued when the drunken thief realized he was being followed by a convoy of squad cars, and mashed the gas pedal to the floor.

The intoxicated driver eventually crashed the stolen cruiser into a nearby van and tried to escape on foot, but tripped over his drunkenness and was apprehended.

Mexican daily Publimetro identified the culprit as 41-year-old man with a lengthy rap sheet that includes prior convictions for sexual abuse and robbery. He’s now facing charges for non-violent robbery and resisting arrest (but apparently not for drunken driving). Either way, he’ll now have an interesting story to tell his old buddies back in the clink.

The Ministry of Public Safety will also sanction the policeman, the newspaper reported.