KANSAS — A Florida man in police custody in Kansas reportedly stole a patrol unit and drove off. Most would assume he was cuffed in front, or slipped his cuffs by contorting his legs through the handcuffs, but he apparently drove without the use of his hands, according to reports.
A Kansas Highway Patrol officer was bringing Joshua Swartwout, 23, to a local detention facility Saturday, but had pulled over to help out at a motorcycle crash scene along the way, near the town of Atwood, according to KSN News.
That’s when Swartwout managed to get behind the wheel of the officer’s car and drive off, leading police on a chase that only ended when the police unit ran out of gas in the town of Edson, about an hour away.
Determined not to be caught, Swartwout fled on foot at the termination point, according to KAKE. He still had his hands cuffed behind his back.
After finally catching him, police managed to get Swartwout to the county jail without any other further problems. The cruiser was not damaged.
Neither report said anything about the police unit being caged or not.
