Huntsville, AL - House Break Suspect Breaks Patrol Car Window Of Colbert Co. Sheriff's Car - Steals Patrol Car - Chase

Burglary Suspect Accused of Stealing Patrol Car
June 9, 2008

Twenty-seven-year old Richard Lee Tyler of Cherokee is in the Colbert County jail. There are several charges pending after an incident that took place Saturday night.

It started when authorities were called to check out a burglary at a home on Allsboro Road. A deputy arrived at the scene, and placed Tyler in the patrol car while he went to question possible victims. That's when things reportedly got out of control.

Authorities say the suspect managed to squeeze through this small divider window in the patrol car and once he got to the front seat, he drove off.

 Police say he did damage the car's radio. A time after his escape, deputies found the car and Tyler at his residence off Red Bud Road.

Colbert County Sheriff Ronnie May says Tyler is facing burglary and theft of property charges for taking the patrol car. However, he's not the only person police are looking into.

The arresting officer is also in the hot seat for not following the proper procedure.

"Until an officer can determine exactly what is going on in the situation, our policy is the person be handcuffed from behind," explains May.

Besides not being handcuffed, Sheriff May says the deputy also made another critical mistake.

"The officer leaves the patrol car running with the keys in it," says May.

The deputy in question is still working while the sheriff's office completes its investigation and decides what to do next. One thing Sheriff May says he knows for sure is that he doesn't want to deal with another situation like this.

"We will look into any and all violations that we find and we will move forward with making a decision about what disciplinary action to take, so this doesn't happen again," says May.

Sheriff May is not releasing the name of the deputy, but we do know that he is a veteran with the Colbert County Sheriff's Department. The harshest punishment could be termination.
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