The Portland Bike Theft Task Force alerted public, via their social media page, of Officer Sanders' patrol bike being stolen from the front of Multnomah County Courthouse.

Portland, Oregon’s bike thieves are so brazen that not only does the city’s police department have its own dedicated bike theft task force — this week the criminals stole a police patrol cycle.

PPB Bike Unit Officer Dave Sanders told local KOIN6 news he’d secured his bicycle outside the Multnomah County Courthouse using handcuffs instead of a regular bike lock as he was “in a rush.”

“I didn’t bring a U-lock with me — which I would highly recommend — but one thing we do if we are in a hurry is use our handcuffs to secure the bike, which I did to a bike rack in front of the main doors of the courthouse,” Sanders said.

When he returned over an hour later, the bike — which had a “Police” logo on the side — was gone.

“Yeah, it is ironic” Sanders agreed. “The willingness to take a police bike, that’s shocking on a deeper level, to be brazen and bold in taking that bike.”

According to KOIN 6, Portland police estimate a bike is stolen every hour in the city, with approximately 27 bikes stolen every day.

The Police department’s Bike Task Force noted in a tweet: “Going out on a limb here, but this may support the argument that we still have a slight bike theft problem in the city…”