Deputy mayor's car stolen from City Hall while she was being sworn into office of Auburn, WA

A Washington official’s car was stolen from city hall as she was being sworn into office. On Monday night, as Cheryl Rakes, Auburn’s newly appointed Deputy Mayor, was being sworn into office, her car was stolen while parked in front of Auburn's city hall.

She told Talk Radio 570 KVI in a statement, “I arrived at City Hall around 5:30 pm, and by the time I went down to the vehicle at around 6:30 pm to grab something, my 2016 Kia Soul was gone.”

She reported the theft to the Auburn Police, who found the vehicle abandoned at an apartment complex about ten minutes away from city hall, and three blocks away from where Rakes lives. Auburn Police said they believe 4 to 5 juveniles stole the car. Rakes told the outlet, “I worked with the Auburn Police Department after the meeting to find the vehicle. Using their Flock safety cameras, they quickly tracked the car to Kent and back to Auburn, where it was safely recovered. The ignition column was damaged, and some items inside were stolen, but it is now back in my possession.”

Rakes added, “I’m incredibly grateful to the Auburn Police Department and its officers for their work in recovering the vehicle quickly and safely. The Flock Safety camera system, using a specialized license plate recognition system, helped a great deal in identifying and tracking the car.”

Last month, a new report revealed that US auto thefts spiked almost 14 percent between 2020 and 2022, the most recent year that national data is available. In 2023, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a vehicle was stolen every 31 seconds in the US.

During that period, Washington saw a 65.8 percent increase in vehicle thefts. LendingTree auto expert and insurance agent Rob Bhatt said of the report, "We're talking about smaller places that we don't necessarily associate with big city problems like car thefts. Bad actors know using a stolen car makes it easier for them to get away with other crimes.”

Six of the top ten stolen models are Hyundai and Kia. The massive amount of vehicle theft in the Evergreen State has landed it in the top ten states with the highest vehicle theft in 2023 and spiked insurance rates to 5.8 percent higher than the national average.

Experts have cited restrictions on police pursuits, that were approved by the Democrat-controlled Washington Legislature following the 2020 riots that rocked Seattle, despite being cautioned that such restrictions would embolden criminals.

After the bill was passed into law, suspects fleeing police spiked by the thousands, with one criminal even calling 911 to cite the bill to tell police to stop pursuing him.

In May, a citizen-backed initiative was passed to finally remove Democrats' disastrous restrictions on police pursuits.

The Evergreen State was ranked in 2024 as the most dangerous state to live in due to violent crime and property crime rates, traffic-related fatalities, and total law enforcement employees per capita. Washington also has the highest rates of burglary and auto theft in the US and is also the state most affected by retail crime.