Bike stolen from Portland Police Bike Theft Task Force

"Well, this oughta be good for some comments at least... 'Please help Bike Theft Task Force Officer Sanders find his stolen bike,'" the department posted on social media. "Going out on a limb here, but this may support the argument that we still have a slight bike theft problem in the city."

Sanders was running late for a grand jury and locked his blue Marin Nail Trail bike with a pair of handcuffs to a rack out front of the Multnomah County Courthouse, KPTV reported.

When he returned about 90 minutes later, the cuffs were hanging on the rack and the bike was gone. The bike, which had a “Police” logo velcroed on it, is registered with serial No. 091712249. The theft was caught on camera.

"You can see him walk by and check out the bike. Then he gets to the end of the block and pauses, like, 'Hey, I think I'll do it!' Then he turns around and goes for it. It's just bizarre," Sanders told Bike Portland. "These thieves have become so brazen."

About 27 bikes a day are stolen in Portland, with only about 10% recovered. The chances increase if it’s registered. Sanders recommends using a U-lock and securing the frame of the bike to a rack.

"It's discouraging that we've reached this level that somebody feels so empowered that they can get away with it that they'll try something like this. That's discouraging that our bike theft problem is that bad," Sanders told KPTV. "But it also motivates me. It's kind of a motivator to say, 'Hey, let's do more, let's see what we can do better to prevent this from happening.'"