Nude man takes off in Abilene squad car

Saturday, June 17, 2000 
By Andre Coe
Reporter-News Staff Writer

When Leon Tedford looked up from his work
and noticed a crowd of about half a dozen
people, one police officer, a damaged Chevy
Tahoe police vehicle and a naked man it was
time to dial 911.

"I had customers in the store, heard the
squealing and looked up," said the store
manager for Maytag.

Noticing only one officer present, he called 911.

Witnesses said the 31-year-old man was "just
walking down the street" near G.W.'s on North
1st Street and Sayles Boulevard with "nothing 
but a newspaper" and no clothes on.

By the time police arrived, the man was at the
corner of North 1st and Amarillo streets G.W.'s
employee Deborah Carroll described the
incident.

"He was naked as a jaybird with a newspaper
curled up in his hands," she said. "Who says
nothing ever happens in Abilene?"

Veteran police officer Greg Ripka placed the
man in the back of his Chevy Tahoe and began
to get more information from witnesses.

Seizing the moment to make a getaway, the
naked man crawled through a sliding window
into the drivers seat and temporarily stole the
sport utility vehicle.

He didn't get far.

The officer turned around, jumped into the
driver's side of the vehicle and before anything
else could happen, it ended up on a nearby
curb.

The vehicle's undercarriage and radio
equipment inside the squad car was damaged
and a front right tire was blown out.

Ripka was not available for comment.

The man was taken into custody and was being
evaluated by mental health workers at Hendrick
Medical Center on Friday evening.

Contact staff writer Andre Coe at coea@abinews.com. 

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