November 2, 2018
www.wbrc.com
A search is underway for a suspect after a Birmingham police car was stolen.
Birmingham officers saw the man on Pike Road driving erratically Friday afternoon.
A chase began, and at some point the suspect jumped out of his car. Officers started chasing him on foot. At one point he circled back around and hopped in the patrol car and took off.
The car was found in front of the Fairfield Community Center.
“A couple of our officers got behind an individual extremely reckless – driving at a high rate of speed. He seemed to be intoxicated,” Birmingham Police Capt. Sean Edwards said.
After a short chase, officers say the man jumped out and began to run.
“It appeared the suspect we were after came back around and got inside of a patrol car. Got inside a patrol car and drove for several blocks,” says Edwards.
Officers chased again and cornered him on the dead-end street in front of the community center. But he hopped out and started running again.
That’s when officers called in backup, including K-9s to search the area.
“We’re just not going to tolerate individuals who are going to totally disrespect us and get inside a patrol car,” Edwards says.
Police are still searching for the man. They do not believe the public is in any danger. While officers wouldn’t release the man’s name, they say they know who he is and that he has a criminal history.
“We don’t think this individual is a violent person, but the reality is you don’t know what’s in people’s minds – don’t know what they’ll do once police are behind them,” Edwards says. “If it takes us all day, we’re going to find this individual and we’re pretty hopeful.”
Once police find the man, they know he will definitely be charged with reckless driving and attempting to allude. They say it will be up to the district attorney to determine if he’ll be charged for stealing the car.
