Drunk Woman Steals Clayton County Police Cruiser - Hits two other cars - Escapes into woods
Clayton County, GA - Police cars were chasing a police car, after a woman
allegedly stole a Clayton County Police Department cruiser.
At about 3:30 p.m., Saturday, officers received a 911 call from the Taco Mac at
3682 Ga. Hwy. 138. “We had a report of a woman trying to break into cars at the
Taco Mac,” Deputy Chief Tim Robinson said.
One officer, responding to the scene, saw a woman matching the description of
the suspect. The officer, who has not been named by police, put 28-year-old
Melissa Rachelle Brooks in the back of his Ford Crown Victoria car and continued
on to the Taco Mac.
When the officer arrived, Robinson said, he opened the Plexiglas window between
the front seat and the back seat of the patrol car.
“It’s so hot in the back seat, he opens the screen, the little sliding screen,
so she can get some air,” Robinson said.
The officer, inside the fast food restaurant interviewing witnesses, saw his
marked patrol car driving away.
The car hit two other cars in the Taco Mac parking lot, then turned out
onto Highway 138.
According to Robinson, the woman, only a suspect at the time, was never
handcuffed. She appeared to be drunk and may have been on drugs, police said.
Police believe she climbed through the sliding window and decided to drive off
in the car.
The window was open only a few inches, according to the officer, but cannot be
locked when it’s open. “It’s either open or it’s not,” Robinson said.
A second patrol car, responding to the attempted vehicle break-in call, saw the
suspect driving a patrol car in the other direction. The second officer tried to
stop the car, which swerved onto a grassy area beside the road and kept going.
“After a very short pursuit,” Robinson said, the stolen police cruiser turned
onto Mt. Zion Boulevard and stopped.
The woman then got out of the car and ran into some nearby woods, Robinson said.
The 28-year-old was caught by Clayton County Police a second time and
handcuffed.
Brooks was charged with theft of a motor vehicle, escape, simple battery, theft,
loitering, giving police a false name, and leaving the scene of an accident.
The arresting officer’s conduct is under internal review, Robinson said.