12/9/24 Chattanooga, TN – Handcuffed Man Stealing From Walmart Steals Patrol Car – Police Chase – Man Flipped The Patrol Car Several Times – Total Wreck

December 9, 2024

www.newschannel9.com

Police investigators in Chattanooga are working to learn exactly how a handcuffed shoplifting suspect managed to get behind the wheel of a patrol car after a Walmart checkout-line foot chase.

29-year-old Antonio D. Pickett faces a long list of charges after authorities say he ultimately flipped the patrol car he stole several times while being chased.

An affidavit we obtained says this incident happened this past Saturday afternoon at the Walmart Supercenter on Brainerd Road.

There, an off-duty Chattanooga officer who was working security at Walmart watched Pickett and another man scan their merchandise at checkout, which included “multiple packs of athletic trading cards valued at $562.96.”

Pickett tried to pay with a debit card, but didn’t have success. At that point, the report says Pickett and the other man picked up their bags and walked out of the store.

The officer stopped the pair. The report says at first, they were cooperative, and began to walk back inside the store.

But then, the affidavit says Pickett dropped his bags and ran back inside. The report says

Police gave chase to Mr. Antonio Pickett through the self-checkout area and around bystanders inside the store.

As he made for the exit, the report says Pickett pushed a bystander on the ground, and tripped over him.

Other bystanders immediately rushed to the man’s aid, as Pickett continued to try to escape. Officers jumped on top of Pickett, and the report says he “began to physically resist.”

Ultimately, officers were able to put Pickett in handcuffs. The report says

Due to Mr. Antonio Pickett physically resisting, police made sure the handcuffs were tight enough were [sic] he couldn’t slip out of them.

Officers put Pickett in the back of a patrol car, and locked the doors.

More officers began to arrive at the scene, and the man whom police say Pickett pushed down complained of neck numbness, and was bleeding out of his mouth. Officers called an ambulance.

The affidavit says at this point, police went back out to the patrol car where they left Pickett. They found him “speaking with another officer about the incident,” according to the report.

The affidavit continues

A short time later, EMS arrived on scene to provide medical attention. Police requested one of the few officers to direct EMS to [the bystander who was hurt] inside Walmart.

During this time, police locked the patrol car and went inside the asset protection office from the outside door to retrieve information regarding the shoplifting.

A few moments later, police walked out the outer door and observed the patrol car Mr. Antonio Pickett was placed into was missing from the last known spot. Police asked other officers on scene if they possibly moved the patrol vehicle, which they advised no. Police advised dispatch the patrol car was stolen, which was relayed to the entire sector.

Police rushed into the asset protection office to see if surveillance video could explain the patrol car’s absence.

As it happened, the theft of the car happened right under the store’s front camera. The report says

Police observed Mr. Antonio Pickett somehow opening the partition sliding window, climbing through the partition window with the handcuffs now in front of his body, climb into the driver seat, and driving away in the patrol car.

A short time later, officers spotted the stolen squad car crossing the Lee Highway / Highway 153 overpass, speeding north on Lee Highway.

Officers started chasing it as it ran “multiple red lights from Lee Hwy/Hwy153 until the 7500 block of Bonny Oaks Drive,” all with disregard for others on the road. The report says Pickett was

…improperly passing multiple vehicles, crossing over the center line multiple times, and continued to evade them in the stolen patrol vehicle.

Ultimately, the report says Pickett struck a vehicle, causing the squad car to flip several times, before coming to a rest upright.

The affidavit says Pickett got out of the patrol car and tried to run away. But he didn’t get far.

Pickett now faces these charges:

• Assault
• Reckless endangerment
• Theft of property
• Burglary of auto
• Resisting arrest or obstruction of legal process (x2)
• Evading arrest
• Disorderly conduct
• Traffic control signals violation
• Improper passing (must pass safely)
• Driving left of center line
• Failure to yield right-of-way
• Failure to render aid
• Leaving scene of accident w/damage to vehicle
• Duty upon striking fixtures upon a highway
• Failure to report accident
• Reckless driving
• Drivers to exercise due care