Prisoner Steals Police Car, Deputy Fired in Mississippi
11/12/03 - The Sun Herald - Cleveland, Miss.
A Bolivar County sheriff’s deputy was fired Monday after a prisoner he was transporting stole his car and led authorities on a five-hour manhunt.
Walter Grant was transporting Chris Allen Picard, 21, from Canton to Bolivar County when he stopped for gas in Indianola, police said.
Picard somehow got into the front of the police cruiser and drove off.
"The inmate was improperly restrained," Chief Deputy Charles Gilmer said. "He did have the leg irons on and he was handcuffed, but instead of using a waist chain or waist restraint system, he was just handcuffed with his hands in front of his body."
Picard, who is charged with two counts of escape, in addition to two charges of auto theft and one charge of forgery, was captured five hours later.
Gilmer said Grant was fired because of the sheriff’s department’s zero-tolerance policy toward protocol.