A pair of NYPD cops took an impromptu plunge into the waters off Far Rockaway to chase down a career car thief who jumped off a dock after being caught with a stolen vehicle, police said Monday.

The NYPD on Monday released video of the splashy arrest showing suspect Matthew Swafford in the Atlantic Ocean struggling with one of the cops as water sprays around them near a rocky jetty.

“We went through all of this for a stolen car?” that officer, Det. Jacqueline Demerest of the 101st Precinct, asked Swafford after finally taking him into custody, court papers say.

“Yeah, I know, it was stupid,” he responded, according to a criminal complaint.

The mayhem began when Swafford was spotted in a stolen 2025 Honda sedan near Beach 8th St. and Seagirt Ave., about half a mile from his home, at

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