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The incident took place in the Glenville section of Greenwich on Monday, Jan. 16 around midnight.
Police began looking for the car after receiving a report that it was driving around the area looking at vehicles, said Capt. Mark Zuccerella.
Once officers spotted the BMW they ran the plates which came back for a different vehicle, he said.
When the BMW's driver saw the police they drove through a lawn and then sideswiped the cruiser in an effort to get away, Zuccerella said.
No one was injured and the car got away, but Zuccerella said the incident just points to the number of stolen vehicles being swiped each night when residents leave their keys in their cars.
"The problem is taking place across the state, not just in Greenwich," he said. "It's mostly juveniles and organized crime members who travel the area looking for unlocked cars with keys or key fobs inside."
A lot of the time the cars are used in other crimes and then dumped.
A new twist to the thieves' method is breaking into garages and stealing cars if none are in the driveway.
"Owners will leave the keys in the cars in the garage thinking they are safe," Zuccerella said. "They are not."
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