Excellent story and plot, Damo. Scout Parsons doesn't seem too bright trying to stop a machine that size with his police car. Maybe he was brought up on Dixon of Dock Green where the baddies, when cornered, always gave up gracefully saying, "It's a fair cop, Guv. You've got me bang to rights, put the darbies on!"
The ignition keys in the ignition rang bells. When I worked on the legal and admin side for a UK company I discovered that because the delivery van drivers kept losing the ignition keys the transport manager had had them welded into the ignition lock. Well, to say I discovered it isn't quite true - the teenagers who broke into the vehicle compound one night discovered it!