Metropolitan Police Department officials said yesterday that the D.C. man who stole a patrol car over the weekend after his arrest was handcuffed while in the back seat, but contorted his body to gain use of his hands.
Officer Junis Fletcher said the man wriggled his feet and legs between his arms to bring his handcuffed hands up front, then climbed through a window to reach the steering wheel and start the car.
At about 10 p.m. Saturday, police were called to a house at 57th and East Capitol streets Southeast after a complaint that a man and woman had been fighting. Police arrested the man, handcuffed his hands behind his back and placed him in the back seat of the police car.
The arresting officer returned to the house to search for a gun, but left the keys in the ignition, police said.
Officers pursued the stolen car west to 49th and A streets, where it slammed into a stop sign, then into a vacant building.
The man “bailed out and fled on foot,” Officer Fletcher said.
Sixth District police and K-9 patrols circled the neighborhood before finding and rearresting the man in a basement entrance to a residence in the 100 block of 47th Street Southeast, Officer Fletcher said.
Police took the man to a hospital for examination for injuries, then to jail.
Eight charges have been filed against the man, whom police did not identify last night. He is charged with simple assault, car theft, unauthorized use of a vehicle, escape, flight from justice, destruction of property, reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident.
The investigation is continuing and additional charges may be filed, Officer Fletcher said. He said the investigation will include finding whether the arresting officer made mistakes, likely through a 6th District internal investigation.
If the officer is found at fault, “the appropriate action will be taken,” Officer Fletcher said.
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