05/18/12 Roswell, GA – Handcuffed Erratic Driver With Drugs Steals Sergeant’s Police Car – Chase – 3 Police Cars Damaged – 1 Destroyed – Light Poles And Power Lines Knocked Down

May 18, 2012

cbsatlanta.com

Roswell police ended up pursuing one of their own cruisers in a bizarre chase early Friday morning.

It started around 1:45 a.m. when an officer noticed a driver on Holcomb Bridge Road driving erratically. He tried to pull him over, but the car took off, weaving in and out of parking lots.

At Holcomb Bridge Road and Highway 9, the driver spun out and tried to run away. Police chased him across the street to the Pit Stop, an oil change business. They arrested and handcuffed him, putting him in the back of a running sergeant’s car.

While the officers discussed the situation outside, the suspect somehow managed to steal the cruiser by squeezing through the petition and maneuvering his handcuffed hands up, underneath his legs, and to his front side.

“We had him secured in the backseat. He was handcuffed behind him, buckled in, and he did what we call a loop. He moved his hands from underneath and crawled through,” explained Lt. James McGee.

Roswell police chased him into Gwinnett County. McGee said, at times, the suspect drove the wrong way on Holcomb Bridge Road and even knocked down some light fixtures and power line poles.

He wrecked at Peachtree Industrial and Jimmy Carter. Police took him to the hospital, but he was expected to be fine.

No officers were injured, but McGee said the stolen cruiser was destroyed and two other police cruisers were damaged during the chase.

McGee said police searched the suspect’s car he was driving when he was first stopped. He said they found marijuana and meth. They also found a weapon they believe he tossed out from the window.

Police have not released the suspect’s name.