A suspect did most of the heavy lifting for officers after ditching a stolen Chevrolet Blazer in a Calgary police parking lot.

Officers witnessed the whole thing from inside the office, took chase and promptly arrested the 42-year-old Calgary man.

It started when an SUV was stolen Tuesday afternoon from the 3900 block of Manchester Road S.E. after the owner left it idling.

Police were called and quickly located the suspect driving the vehicle, but the driver took off — driving dangerously fast — so police called off the chase.

The man then dropped the car in a nearby parking lot.

"The offender made the decision to ditch the vehicle in a parking lot to make good his escape, but what he failed to realize was that it was the District 1 office parking lot," police said in a Facebook post recounting the incident.

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"Several officers who were completing police reports and others who were preparing to start their night shift saw the offender park the stolen vehicle in front of the office and start to run away. Officers gave chase and the offender was apprehended a short distance from the office without incident."

The man is now facing multiple charges related to the incident and police are reminding drivers to avoid leaving their vehicle unattended with keys inside.