THE LAST WORD:

After the authorities managed to piece together what happened and let us know, it sounded like a Michael Mann movie.

Three men burst into a Costa Mesa bank, order customers to the floor and march employees into the vault. They grab the cash and dash to a getaway car dumped just a few blocks away so they can make a sneaky switch to another getaway car. The bad guys ducked down in the back seat so they could make the proverbial clean getaway, but a brave witness tips police in pursuit about the maneuver so authorities can keep up the chase.

With helicopters and Costa Mesa police and California Highway Patrol officers in their squad cars on their tail, the robbers race on and off the freeways until they finally crash into a palm tree at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza mall. By then money’s flying out of the SUV, and some bystanders even try to grab a few bills for themselves. The suspects — five of them now — jump out of the vehicle and run away. But the police manage to collar two of them.

It’s times like these that make us so grateful for our protectors and the crazy risks they sometimes have to endure to preserve law and order. All we can say is, good job, guys. And keep it up. We’re sure you’ll round up the rest of the gang soon.