A Battle Creek man is facing several charges today after he allegedly stole a police car and then ran from officers after crashing it.

The 33-year-old suspect was caught about two hours after he was placed in the patrol car during an investigation of a stolen car, Battle Creek police said.

He now is facing charges of auto theft, destruction of police property, eluding police and leaving the scene of an accident. He also was wanted on six unrelated felony warrants.

The afternoon chase and search had residents of an Urbandale neighborhood watching through windows and forced two elementary schools to briefly lock their doors.

Police were concerned that the man might have fled the patrol car with a police shotgun, but officers said he left the gun inside the car and still in its holder.

"The most important thing was the firearm," Cmdr. Jackie Hampton said. "The second most important thing was the vehicle because that can be dangerous, too. But we had those, and then it was a just a matter of locating the subject."

Hampton said the incident began about 1:35 p.m. when Officer Grady Pierce stopped the suspect during the investigation of a possible stolen car.

Pierce said he saw the man walking on Oak Street north of Michigan Avenue in Bedford Township.

When the man began to give Pierce some questionable information, the officer placed the man in the back seat of the patrol car.

Pierce then stood outside the car to make a phone call, Hampton said. Because Pierce didn't yet know about the felony warrants and the suspect was not under arrest, his hands were not handcuffed and he was able to open a screen to the front of the car and crawl into the driver's seat.

Pierce noticed the movement, but Hampton said the man slammed the driver's-side door, locked it and drove off.

Other officers began searching, and Hampton said about three minutes later the patrol car was spotted on Cedar Avenue. A chase began. Soon the suspect lost control on slippery pavement, and the car struck a mailbox and utility pole wire at Taylor and Mason avenues.

Carol Smith heard the crash and looked out the window of her house at the intersection.

"I heard the crash and saw someone running through my back yard," she said.

The man jumped a fence and disappeared in the back yard of another house.

From across the street, Krista Brown and Beverly McDonald both heard the crash.

"We heard the crash and saw the guy running," said McDonald. "He was a big tall guy, and there were three officers chasing him. He jumped over the fence and then went between the sheds."

Brown said she saw much the same after looking out from her house.

"One of the cops would have caught him, but he tripped and fell," Brown said. "He was pretty close."

Officers from Battle Creek, Springfield and the Michigan State Police flooded the area in cars, on foot and using a tracking dog. As the search began, police notified two nearby elementary schools, LaMora Park and Urbandale, to lock their doors.

Hampton said until officers were certain that the man was not armed, they asked the schools to close their doors as a precaution.

Lockdown status at LaMora Park Elementary was lifted just before school let out for the day.

"(The students) knew something was going on because we locked the doors and didn't let them into the hallways," said Principal Julie McDonald. "But we went about business as usual, and they were let out with the bell."

Todd Tuyls learned of the situation when he arrived to pick up his daughter, Emily. At the time, students were being released through the front door and with parents only, he said.

"My daughter is only 7, so it makes you nervous," he said, after walking hand-in-hand with Emily to his vehicle and answering her questions. "She was a little scared, but I don't think she really understands the consequences of the situation."

McDonald said she was very pleased with the police department's concern and communication.

"They were the ones that called first, and then we let the downtown (school) administration office know," she said. "We were willing to do whatever it took to keep them as long as we needed to."

Back on the streets with guns drawn, the police began searching yards, parked cars, storage sheds and some garages and homes. The search continued to move north and east until the man finally was found in a yard on Woodlawn Avenue just south of Morgan Road and arrested without incident.

The whole incident was a bit unnerving for Smith, who had been working on her computer when she saw the man run through her yard.

"This is too much excitement," she said. "I was looking for a quiet afternoon."

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Staff writer Nicole Jacques contributed to this report.