Costa Mesa Police Chase Down Juveniles Accused of Stealing Car on Foot

Cops in Orange County got their exercise in to end the week -- they had to chase down a handful of alleged juvenile delinquents accused of jacking a car ... and the video's wild.

Costa Mesa PD tells TMZ ... officers came across a vehicle that had been reported stolen Friday in the middle of the day -- and when they tried initiating a stop, we're told the car didn't come to a stop ... so the police had to give chase.

We're told there was a short pursuit, which ended with the subjects of the vehicle bailing on the car ... and cops having to chase them down on foot -- something captured on camera.

TMZ got a hold of the footage ... and yeah, it's pretty intense -- you can see the whole thing.

Check out the clip ... you can see what looks to be a few people taking off running through the road, where a ton of cars are stopped at a light ... with what looks like a lot of police activity on the scene -- including multiple cruisers and even helicopters in the sky too.

The cops that end up going after these people appear to have their weapons drawn -- but luckily, no shots are fired ... and in the end, it looks like they were able to nab the suspects.

CMPD tells us three people were taken into custody ... and we're told they were all teens. No word on what charges they might've been booked on at this point.