Ware Shoals, SC - Handcuffed DUI Prisoner Steals Police Car at Checkpoint - Chase - Arrested
Man Faces Charges of Stealing Police Car
April 12, 2007
Index-Journal staff writer
WARE SHOALS — The Ware Shoals Police Department arrested a man Wednesday
after he reportedly stole a police car and led officers on a chase.
Police arrested Christopher Brock, 23, of 191 Gaines Road in Ware Shoals. Brock
is charged with larceny of a police vehicle, failure to stop for a blue
light, driving with a suspended license and DUI.
Police Chief Mickey Boland said officers had set up a safety checkpoint in Ware
Shoals Wednesday, a practice that has become common in recent months.
“Since December, we have tried to set up license checks in random locations,”
Boland said. “We have seen a trend of people driving without insurance or even
without driver’s licenses.”
When Brock came through Wednesday’s checkpoint, Boland said, officers became
aware he had an active bench warrant against him. He said they took him into
custody and placed him in the back of a police cruiser.
Ironically, Boland said Brock’s mother was at the police station paying off the
warrant at almost exactly the same time. He said that after she paid it, she was
going to where police had Brock in custody.
Brock apparently had other plans in mind.
“Somehow, he got his handcuffs in front of him and slipped through the glass
partition between the front and back of the car,” Boland said. “At that point he
took off.”
Boland said Brock’s small stature — Boland said he weighs about 130 pounds —
likely provided the opportunity for Brock to slip into the front seat. Officers
chased Brock for about two miles before he pulled over and was re-apprehended.
Boland said he and his department will continue to conduct the license checks.
“Driving privileges in this state are just that: privileges,” Boland said. “It’s
not fair to people who do the right thing to have to share the road with people
with no driver’s license and no insurance.”