Woman tries to steal police car with officers in it

A would-be car thief in the US has been arrested after a display of sub-par decision making that saw her try to steal off with an undercover police car that had two on-duty officers inside it at the time.

The police officers were idling outside a nightclub in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Strip District early on Saturday morning when the officer in the driver's seat stepped out of the driver's side door to make a phone call.

A woman nearby, who'd been watching the officers, walked over to the car and sat down in the driver's seat. The woman was later identified as Ria Buford.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the police officer in the passenger's seat, Garrett Spory, told Ms Buford that she was under arrest and tried to push her out of the car.

Buford protested that she was only borrowing the car to drive it to her own car, at which point the police officer in the back seat also started shouting at her.

“We were both terrified that she was going to attempt to drive away with both of us in the vehicle,” Officer Spory wrote in his report.

The officers dragged Ms Buford out of the car and arrested her, as well as an unidentified man who attempted to come to her aid.

Ms Buford, who "had an overwhelming odour of alcoholic beverage emanating from her person," was charged with motor theft and public drunkenness.