Dumb Cops

[ogopogo3]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,52051,00.html

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A convicted murderer serving an 18-year sentence at a state prison escaped Monday morning when correction officers, thinking he was another prisoner, drove him to a bus station here for release.

Officials at Turney Center Industrial Prison and Farm apparently mistook inmate Donald L. White for another inmate scheduled for release and loaded him into a van bound for Nashville, said state Correction Department spokesman Steve Hayes.

"He matched the description of the other inmate," Hayes said. "There is some indication [the switch] may have been planned."

Correction workers realized their mistake before the van's 10:30 a.m. arrival at the Greyhound bus depot in Nashville and had officers waiting.

"He saw law enforcement and ran," Hayes said.

White apparently heard emergency sirens as the van drove up to the depot, according to Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron.

Hayes said the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Tennessee Highway Patrol and local law enforcement were searching for White.

The Greyhound station is located just blocks from downtown Nashville's tourist district — including the Gaylord Entertainment Center, home to the NHL's Nashville Predators, and the historic Ryman Auditorium.

The area was closed off by police and a command center set up nearby. A Nashville high school also was locked down.

White was described as black male, 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing 150 pounds. He has a large afro haircut and several tattoos, including one on his right forearm.

He was serving an 18-year sentence for a second-degree murder conviction.

 

[Glensheen'sGirl~]

The article isn't clear about the ending... did the recover the escapee? Since the article doesn't describe how he was recaptured, I'm assuming he's still on the run...?

 

[Anonymous]

Judging from his description I imagine there can't be that many that looks like him. But maybe it was like in Life of Brian.

"Hi, are you the convict that is supposed to be set free?"
"Ehmm, yeah that would be me"

 

[ogopogo3]

Policeman punches child (photos)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_2002000/2002249.stm

Outcry as policeman punches child

Television pictures of a policeman punching a child in the face have shocked viewers in Russia.

The image was captured in Vladivostok, as police attempted to deal with a picket staged by fishermen and their families.

The footage shows a policeman involved in angry exchanges with one of the protesters, a young mother carrying her daughter in her arms.

As the argument continues, the policeman advances and lashes out with his fist, punching the child in the face.

The policeman was named in Russian media reports as Lieutenant Colonel Aleksandr Lysenko, the head of the city's traffic police.

Russian radio said he had been sacked, but other reports said he had been suspended while an investigation was carried out.

Officials are complaining that Russian television has presented a one-sided account of the encounter, claiming that earlier pictures of the woman attacking the officer with her handbag had not been shown.

Vladivostok district prosecutors are investigating whether the police used illegal methods or excessive force to disperse the blockade.

A delegation from the Russian Interior Ministry was also said to be flying to Vladivostok to investigate.

Around 200 people took part in the protest, claiming they were owed months of wage arrears.

The officer could face a prison sentence of between three and 10 years if convicted of assaulting the woman.

Prosecutors are also investigating the workers' claims over their non-paid wages.

 

[Anonymous]

Officials are complaining that Russian television has presented a one-sided account of the encounter, claiming that earlier pictures of the woman attacking the officer with her handbag had not been shown.

And the relevance of that is?

 

[harlequin2005]

I thought Wastrel's point was 'how was Madame Handbag's attack relvant to Policeman gobbing child', but maybe I misread it

As to Fortean content... bit tangental, maybe, but I read it as one of those 'Nature of Truth' things...is the camera lying?


8¬)

 

[Anonymous]

If the woman was engaging a policeman in combat while carrying a child in her arms then I doubt her ability to be a good parent.

The policeman could have been aiming for her and she used the baby as a shield.

Then again perhaps the pig is just a common thug

I would have to see the footage to comment further.

 

[Anonymous]

Posted by harlequin:

I thought Wastrel's point was 'how was Madame Handbag's attack relvant to Policeman gobbing child', but maybe I misread it

I think you are refering to another post, since deleted? I see a few on this thread have already been deleted.

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

I thought I'd started a thread for stupid police stories but clearly not:

From The Morning Call -- February 10, 2004

Rush Twp. holds hearing on police shooting of dog
Supervisors ask if officer was justified in killing schnauzer.

By Sarah Fulton



A closed hearing on the actions of a Rush Township police officer who said he shot a 15 year-old pet schnauzer for ''humanitarian reasons'' was held Monday by township supervisors.

Testimony was taken late into the evening to help supervisors determine whether officer Scott Mickelesko acted wrongly when he shot Nancy Meiser's dog, Whiskers, after receiving a call on Jan. 10 from a motorist who said the animal had been hit on Fairview Road.

The unofficial results of an autopsy performed on the dog last week by the Schuylkill County pathologist revealed no trauma or fractures to the animal to support the claim that it was hit by a car, Meiser's attorney, Melissa Rudas, has said. Rudas was in court Monday and could not attend the hearing. She hopes to have an official copy of the autopsy report this week.

Township solicitor Paul Domalakes has said supervisors may or may not consider the results of the autopsy when weighing Mickelesko's actions.

Mickelesko, Meiser, county 911 supervisor Tara Schappell, township Supervisor William Sanchez Jr., who photographed the dead dog, and two of Meiser's neighbors who found the dog's body on the side of the road were asked to testify.

Mickelesko has said that, before he shot the injured dog, he tried to locate the owner by calling in the animal's license number to the county 911 center. Three times, Mickelesko incorrectly read the numbers to dispatchers.

Meiser has contended that even if the dog was fatally injured, she should have been contacted before the animal was shot.

Neither Meiser nor Mickelesko would comment on the hearing. Supervisors plan to vote on their findings at their meeting next Tuesday.

Mickelesko's attorney, David Washington of Harrisburg, declined to open the hearing to the public. Mickelesko has been suspended without pay while supervisors gather details.

Sarah Fulton is a freelance writer.

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b1_1dogshot-rfeb10,0,7874774.story?coll=all-newslocal-hed

He should be able to tell if a dog has been injured or not and he got the numbers wrong 3 times!! If he is that dim I'm not sure it is a good idea letting him wander the streets.

Emps

 

[filcee]

...He should be able to tell if a dog has been injured or not and he got the numbers wrong 3 times!! If he is that dim I'm not sure it is a good idea letting him wander the streets.

Emps

Let alone wander the streets with a loaded firearm :eek!!!!:

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Sheriff accused of having handcuffs removed from boy with torch


Lincoln, Nebraska-AP -- A rural Nebraska sheriff is being sued for having a pair of handcuffs removed from a student, with a torch.
The student had been handcuffed by Sheriff Larry Donner -- who had been invited to speak at a Burwell High School.

The lawsuit claims the handcuff key broke and sheriff had a welding shop remove the cuffs with a torch.The lawsuit claims the torch caused third-degree burns to Seth Barrett's wrist, which later required surgery.An attorney for the boy's parents says the theme of the lawsuit is, 'What were you thinking?'It seeks damages from the sheriff, the school and its welding shop.

http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=1708912

 

[sunsplash1]

And these people have Guns?

 

[Anonymous]

Not yet here in the UK thank creeping Jesus.

Actually some do but well . . hey whats that?!

 

[Anonymous]

Off-duty Baltimore detective charged for bringing gun to ACC game

GREENSBORO, N.C. — An off-duty Baltimore police detective has been charged for bringing a concealed pistol into an Atlantic Coast Conference tournament game, where he was shot in the hip when the gun fired accidentally, police said.

The gun discharged about midway through the second half of Maryland's 87-86 win against Wake Forest in the quarterfinals at the Greensboro Coliseum. No other injuries were reported.

Darren I. Sanders, 37, was treated and released from a hospital, said Greensboro police spokeswoman Amy Frazier. He is charged with carrying a gun into an assembly where admission is charged.

Baltimore police will investigate and determine whether Sanders should be disciplined, said spokesman Troy Harris.

"The most that he's going to look at is a citation," Harris said.

Sanders came to the game with Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti. Chad Steele, a Ravens spokesman, denied earlier reports that Sanders was working as Bisciotti's bodyguard.

"His friend is fine. It was an accident," Steele said.

Maryland coach Gary Williams said he didn't know what had happened at first.

"Then when I found out and they stopped play, I was worried because it was when we were playing well," he said. "But the refs did a great job of keeping the players involved with what was going on the court and not what was going on off of it."

Sanders was sitting two rows from the floor near the Wake Forest bench, on the opposite side of the court from where North Carolina Sen. John Edwards had sat hours before during a game between North Carolina and Georgia Tech.

The Atlantic Coast Conference issued a statement early Saturday commending the coliseum staff, police and emergency officials for their "swift and efficient handling of this isolated incident."

Coliseum officials said Saturday they will use metal detectors at the gates for the rest of the tournament and apologized for the inconvenience.

"However, the safety of our patrons and student athletes is of the utmost priority," the statement said.

___

March 13, 2004 - 1:51 p.m. CST


http://www.reflector.com/featr/cont...NgNiCKpk78nDA32nmgzNeRSEcXS95L6HL3QkD2PNdw014!-1656378095?urac=n&urvf=10793758768940.08567811538905978

---------------------

sureshot

 

[Anonymous]

the french cops have guns.. a friend of mine while sailing thro france in the cannals was sittign one day looking down on a village and saw this unfold... a copper was wandering along the deserted main street when some kids started to throw firecrakers around..bang bang bang ..the copper jumped into the air drew his pistol and started to return fire at imagined attackers, not even in the direction of the kids, who ran away prity smartish... the copper paused... pistol at the ready...observed the spent firecrackers... looked round to see if anyone had seen and sheepishly returned the pistol to its holster and shuffled off embaresed.

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

March 16, 2004, 6:14AM

Officers injured when two police cars collide

Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

Two police cars responding to a shooting call collided near downtown Houston Monday night, sending both officers to the hospital with minor injuries.

An HPD sergeant ran a stop sign at eastbound Tuam and was broadsided by a northbound patrol car on Chenevert about 9 p.m.

The sergeant's car was slammed into a house. Accident investigators said the sergeant will be found at fault.

Both officers were treated and released from Memorial Hermann Hospital.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2451271

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Court ruse lands cops behind bars

A court in the Egyptian city of Luxor has sentenced seven policemen to six months each in prison for an attempt to impersonate a suspect at a trial.

The officers resorted to the ruse after their detainee's embarrassing escape from custody on the eve of his court appearance on drug charges in 2000.

They persuaded a colleague to pose as Mohammed Sami, but another defendant who knew him gave the game away.

Sami, who was later recaptured, was finally sentenced to 10 years inside.

An eighth policeman implicated in the case was acquitted at Wednesday's trial.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/3520672.stm

Published: 2004/03/17 18:48:17 GMT

© BBC MMIV

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

It really does make you think of the police in the Simpsons:

11-Year-Old Girl Finds Loaded Gun In Used Car

Family Wants Former Police Chief Disciplined

POSTED: 6:42 pm EST March 19, 2004
UPDATED: 6:51 pm EST March 19, 2004

ELYRIA, Ohio -- An 11-year-old girl found a loaded gun in a used car, and her family wants disciplinary action taken against the former police chief who owns it, reported NewsChannel5.

Houssain Mishkin, of Grafton, said his daughter, Layla, found a loaded .38-caliber revolver in a 1998 Toyota Camry he purchased two weeks ago.

The car was bought at Twining Auto Sales, and was formerly owned by former Oberlin Police Chief Robert Jones, who worked for the department for 30 years.

According to an Elyria police report, Jones lost track of the gun and it was left in the back pouch of the car's seat when he sold it.

Four months later, Mishkin purchased the car, and his daughter pulled the gun out of the pouch while the family was on the road.

Mishkin is upset no disciplinary action was taken against Jones, who is now head of security at Oberlin College.

"As a family man, as a businessman, I think he's really irresponsible," said Mishkin.

The gun has been returned to Jones. Elyria police say the revolver was his personal weapon and not his service revolver.

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/2936666/detail.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Not quite cops but I thin security gaurds also count in this context.

Crooks trick guards out of 2k

From correspondents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
April 23, 2004


ROBBERS distracted three Malaysian security guards by throwing a handful of bank notes on the ground, then ran off with a bag of cash containing 1 million ringgit (2,000) when the guards stooped to pick them up, police said.

The embarrassed guards waited two hours before reporting the robbery to police, after searching for the culprits themselves at one of Kuala Lumpur's most popular shopping malls, newspapers cited police as saying.

The guards had picked up the bag of cash from a bank in the mall and had placed it on the floor as they waited for an elevator to take them back to their security van, assistant police commissioner Hadi Ho Abdullah was cited as saying in The Star newspaper.

As they waited, a group of men approached the guards and one dropped a wad of notes on the floor.

“They saw several 1 ringgit notes strewn on the floor and went to pick them up, thinking they were from the bag,” Hadi was quoted as saying. “After picking up the notes, they turned around and found the bag containing the 1 million ringgit missing.”

Hadi said the guards managed to catch one suspected member of the robbery group, who they alleged were South Americans.

Hadi said the suspect had been detained for questioning, and a full investigation was under way.

“I would also like to advise security guards that they should not be so gullible,” Hadi said. “They must always ensure that the money they are carrying is always in their grasp or view.”

http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9365251%5E13762,00.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

And currently breaking all the laws of gun safety is:

Gun safety presenter shoots self

Saturday, May 1, 2004 Posted: 1611 GMT (0011 HKT)



ORLANDO, Florida (AP) -- A federal drug agent shot himself in the leg during a gun safety presentation to children in what police describe as an accident. His bosses, however, are still investigating the incident.

The Drug Enforcement Administration agent, whose name was not released, was speaking April 9 to about 50 adults and students organized by the Orlando Minority Youth Golf Association, witnesses and police said.

He drew his .40-caliber duty weapon and removed the magazine, according to the police report. He then pulled back the slide and asked an audience member to look inside the gun and confirm it wasn't loaded.

Witnesses said when the agent released the slide, one shot fired into the top of his left thigh. The gun was pointed at the floor.

The agent was treated at Orlando Regional Medical Center and returned to work, a DEA official said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/South/05/01/dea.shooting.ap/index.html

 

[sunsplash1]

Nothing quite like poetic justice is there?

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Passive soliciting?

French cop arrested in fishnet tights, nothing else

Friday, May 7, 2004 Posted: 2228 GMT (0628 HKT)



PARIS, France (Reuters) -- A French policeman faces trial in a police court for driving under the influence after he was stopped at the wheel of his car drunk and wearing only a pair of fishnet tights, a prosecutor said Friday.

The man admitted he was a part-time prostitute after fellow police chased him through the Bois de Boulogne, a wooded area on the outskirts of Paris reputed as a nighttime hangout of transsexual prostitutes, in the early hours of Thursday.

The policeman said he needed the extra income. If convicted, he could lose his driver's license and be fined.

Prosecutors said there was not enough evidence to try him for passive soliciting, which is punishable by prison in France.

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/05/07/france.prostitute.reut/index.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Polish police accidentally use live bullets to break up fight, killing one

03:58 PM EDT May 10

WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Police mistakenly opened fire with live ammunition to stop a street fight in a central Polish city, killing a 19-year-old man and wounding three others, officials said Sunday.

A 23-year-old woman was in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head and two others were seriously wounded in the violence late Saturday in Lodz. The shootings prompted Lodz police chief Jan Feja and his deputy, Sylwester Stepien, to resign. Lodz Mayor Jerzy Kropiwnicki called for three days of mourning.

The fighting began when a group of soccer fans, apparently angered when their team lost a match, attacked some students. The attackers threw stones and bottles at police as they arrived.

Police responded by firing rubber bullets to disperse the fighters. But some officers accidentally reloaded with live ammunition and fired six rounds before realizing their mistake, deputy national police chief Henryk Tokarski told Poland's PAP news agency. Four people were hit.

Krzysztof Piatkowski, an emergency official in the city, said as many as 70 people were injured and 19 people detained in Saturday's disturbances.

Polish media reported that the soccer fans were returning from a match in which local team Widzew Lodz lost 2-1 to rival Gornik Zabrze when they started attacking the students.

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/040510/w051002.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Posted on Fri, May. 14, 2004



Buyer of retired Kern County squad car finds bomb in trunk

Associated Press



SIMI VALLEY, Calif. - The buyer of a retired Kern County sheriff's squad car discovered it was equipped with an unexpected extra - a bomb.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Department bomb squad used a robot to remove the explosive from the trunk of the Ford Crown Victoria and the demolition team blew it up.

"We don't know if they forgot to remove it before auction or if it was placed there after the fact," police Sgt. Joe May said Wednesday. Investigators were trying to determine the source of the pipe bomb.

Shawn Weiss, 39, of Thousand Oaks said he was pleasantly surprised when he found a flashlight in the decommissioned sheriff's cruiser, which he bought Monday at a police auction in Los Angeles. He was examining the car at a self-service car wash on Donville Avenue.

But he then noticed a wire snaked from the orange flashlight to an orange plastic tube with the words, "Highly Explosive When Detonated."

"I went ahead and slowly put it back down," Weiss said.

Police were called, and officers agreed it looked like a bomb, so the bomb squad was notified. A robot removed the device and it was detonated.

No one was hurt.

Kern County sheriff's Cmdr. Marty Williamson said he was confident the bomb did not come from his agency.

"I find it hard to believe that it originated here," said Williamson, who is in charge of the sheriff's patrol vehicles. He said at least three people examine each vehicle being sold for auction to remove any reusable equipment such as radios or spare tires.

"One of our people would have found it, because it would have been easily noticeable," he said. "We would have taken care of it here before it left our facilities."

Requires (free) registration:

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/merc...ilemail.com&KRD_RM=3kkmrqjqqqslrmjjjjjjjjkksq|The|Y

Emps

 

[Anonymous]

The man admitted he was a part-time prostitute after fellow police chased him through the Bois de Boulogne, a wooded area on the outskirts of Paris reputed as a nighttime hangout of transsexual prostitutes, in the early hours of Thursday.

o/t - it's a weird place. Basically the main road runs through woods. I've driven that way a few times on the way into Paris. It's seems strange to find hookers in the countryside. It doesn't seem like their natural habitat somehow.

Actually - I didn't realise immediately that they were hookers. It being the countryside and me being sometimes rather slow.

 

[drjbrennan]

I once worked with an ex CID chap and he assured me that the police forces like to have a few “nice but dim” types on the force. They get used for the ‘standing in front of the murder scene house for six days’ type of duties that would unhinge the minds of the normal bobbies.

 

[TheQuixote]

Cops ditch caps to save hair-dos
Wed 30 June, 2004 13:02

BERLIN (Reuters) - Female police officers in Berlin have won the right to patrol without uniform caps after complaining their hairstyles were getting ruined.

A new law coming into force in September will allow all women traffic police officers in Germany's capital to ditch the small blue flat cap that was giving them bad hair days.

"The women complained that the caps were hard to fasten and caused considerable problems with their hair-dos," Heinz Buschkowsky, the mayor of the Berlin district of Neukoelln, told Reuters on Wednesday. "We were sympathetic to their wish to get rid of it."

The woman can hang up their caps in exchange for baseball caps or choose to wear no headgear, he said, without commenting on whether the same rules would apply for men worried about their hair.

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=5552696&section=news

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Jul 7, 7:34 AM EDT


Police Mistake Sculptures for Dead Bodies

JOSEPH, Ore. (AP) -- Dannie Eaves got busted for hauling some busts. Eaves, an employee at Joseph Bronze in Joseph, Ore., had six busts in his pickup truck Wednesday when several motorists mistook the Nebraska-bound sculptures for dead bodies and called the police.

"I was going down the freeway and a sheriff pulled up behind me," Eaves said of last Wednesday's incident.

Eaves was asked to step to the back of the truck.

The officers found a life-sized sculpture of a firefighter in the truck bed. Three shoulder-sized busts of former governors were in the truck's cab, a fourth was placed on the floor boards and a fifth was with the firefighter sculpture.

"I explained to him they were statues," Eaves said. "We all had a good laugh. I bet they were really relieved."

The rest of the trip to Evanston, Wyo., about 650 miles from Joseph, Ore., was uneventful, Eaves said. The sculptures were relayed by another person with a canopied truck the rest of the way to Nebraska.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...URES?SITE=VTBUR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

 

[TheQuixote]

Calif. pol calls child 'stupid dirty girl'
July 9, 2004

LOS ANGELES -- State Education Secretary Richard Riordan jokingly told a child her name, Isis, meant ''stupid dirty girl,'' prompting the head of the California NAACP on Thursday to call for his resignation.

Riordan, the former Los Angeles mayor, startled even friends last week with the comments at a promotional event for reading.

Alice Huffman, president of the California chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said Thursday that Riordan ''is not suitable to lead education in our state'' and should be removed.

The girl, 6-year-old Isis D'Luciano, asked Riordan if he knew her name meant ''Egyptian goddess.''

Riordan replied, ''It means stupid dirty girl.''

A day later, Riordan issued a statement apologizing. AP

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-name09.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Published on Thursday, July 8, 2004

Inmates Not Thrilled with Harrowing Chase

By CHRIS BRISTOL
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC


It's not every day a van full of jail inmates chases down an escapee in a getaway car, especially when the van is towing a portable toilet at speeds few portable toilets have gone before.

But that's just what happened in Yakima last week, although the official version of the escape attempt — and the way it was foiled — failed to mention those details.

"It was quite the sight," said Alan Brittin, a Yakima County Jail inmate on contract from Auburn who was involved in the chase. "Imagine a honey bucket doing 90 miles an hour."

Jail officials said Wednesday they would investigate complaints by Brittin and another inmate about the chase, which the inmates described as reckless and unnecessary.

The corrections officers conceded the official version of the escape attempt may have been somewhat incomplete, omitting as it did the detail that the guard in charge of the work crew ordered the rest of the group back into the van and took off after the escapee, Porta-Potty in tow.

Claims that the van hit speeds of nearly 100 mph while trying to catch up to the getaway car may not be verifiable.

"If we have an inmate that makes that claim," jail spokesman Cpl. Ken Rink said, "we have to look into it and see what the issues are."

To Brittin and the other inmate, who asked that his name not be used, the issue is that their lives were unnecessarily placed at risk during the chase. They said the van even forced the getaway car off the road, which contradicts the official version that deputies made the stop.

"I feel the department is covering this up because they were in the wrong," the second inmate said. "They could have really hurt somebody, you know."

According to the inmates, they were on a work crew pulling weeds last Thursday and were taking a break at the city's Public Works shop on Fruitvale Boulevard when one of the inmates apparently sneaked off and jumped into a getaway car.

They said a city employee alerted their "boss," who they identified as Corrections Officer Pete Williams. They said Williams had been using the restroom inside the shop and, once told of the escape, immediately ordered the rest of the work crew, seven in all, back into the van.

The getaway car had a good head start, the inmates said, but the operators of a streetsweeper and a city dump truck saw what was happening and radioed a description of the car — a green Ford Focus heading west on Fruitvale to the highway interchange on 40th Avenue. Inmates said the dump truck driver even tried to follow the car, which by then was heading toward Selah on Highway 12.

The inmates said the van, which was towing a trailer with tools and the portable toilet, hit speeds of 90-95 mph as the guard tried to catch up. At least some of the inmates weren't wearing seat belts.

The van driver seemed single-minded in the pursuit, inmates said.

"He (Williams) didn't even acknowledge us," the second inmate said. "It's like he was just going off on his own."

When the van finally caught up to the fleeing car, which was traveling at a normal rate of speed, the driver ignored the guard's command to pull over, the inmates said.

"He told them to pull over, whatnot," Brittin said, "They were just ignoring him."

Brittin and the second inmate said the guard then forced the car off the road, using a disabled motorhome on the shoulder of the highway to "pinch" the car.

Both inmates insisted that sheriff's deputies did not make the car stop, although they also said deputies converged on the scene within seconds and arrested the escapee, 33-year-old Parmesh Uperti, and his alleged accomplice at gunpoint.

Like the rest of the work crew, Uperti was serving time as a contract inmate from King County for traffic offenses. He and his alleged accomplice, David Bernard Parker, 67, of Redmond, face gross misdemeanor charges in District Court.

After fully reviewing reports in the matter, Rink conceded that much of the inmates' story jibed with details that were not previously released to reporters.

In particular, he said the van did pursue the getaway car. Although the guard did not say anything about speeding, by his own account the car had a sizable head start.

The inmates have not been interviewed about the escape, Rink said. Sgt. Gordon Costello said the complaints would be pursued as part of an ongoing review of the incident.

Rink refused to say whether the chase violated department policy.

"If we have an escape in progress, it's prudent to relay information to the proper authorities," he said. "That was done in this case. That was a good thing. But as far as coming to any other conclusions, I wouldn't want to go there."

He also refused to say what department policy is, saying a deputy prosecutor advised him not to.

"If you disclose everything we do, it could help the other side," he explained. "It would be kind of like giving a rival football team your playbook."

http://www.yakima-herald.com/homefront.php?storyid=284002986615315