Evidently this police cruiser did not have a partition separating the front and back seats.

Published Saturday May 10, 2008

Omaha police cruiser stolen, man arrested

BY ANDREW J. NELSON
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

A handcuffed teen in the back of an Omaha police cruiser managed to climb into the front seat and steal the car, tearing up a street and crashing into a tree as officers scrambled to catch him.

The youth had to be cut out of the cruiser before he was rushed to Creighton University Medical Center, said Omaha Police Lt. Michael McGee. His injuries are not considered life-threatening.

The incident will be reviewed by the Police Department's command staff.

McGee said officers from the department's gang unit had pulled a vehicle over at 27th and Q Streets. McGee did not know the specific reason for the stop. Officers from the Southeast Precinct arrived to assist.

The youth, a passenger in the vehicle, was handcuffed and placed in the back of a cruiser. Officers were outside, trying to determine his identity, when he climbed into the driver's seat.

"This male suspect was able to get his hands in front of him . . . get in the front seat of the vehicle and take off," McGee said. He is, apparently, "more limber than the rest of us."

The cruiser sped south on 27th into an industrial neighborhood. The teen soon lost control of the vehicle, which slammed into a tree on the east side of the street about three blocks from where he started.

The youth was awake as rescuers cut open the demolished cruiser to free him.

Officers blocked 27th between R and W Streets as they investigated.

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