A Rhode Island man was caught on surveillance footage stealing a cop car after getting into an altercation with an officer.
Ishmael Lee, 34, was arrested on Tuesday after absconding with the stolen police vehicle.
The officer was patrolling when he noticed two men, one of whom was Lee, driving Slingshots.
As the police officer was observing the Slingshot riders, Lee crashed into someone who was riding an electric scooter.
Local station WPRI reports:
While speaking with the victim and Lee, the officer noticed Lee had taken the satchel he was wearing off and looped it around the handlebar of his Slingshot. Lee then tried to distance himself from it as he continued talking to the officer, according to the report.
Since the officer believed Lee might be carrying a weapon, the report stated he tried to pat the bag down the bag for his safety before allowing Lee to grab his identification.
But Lee took off running with the satchel before the officer could pat it down, according to the report. The officer chased him around the corner onto Colfax Street, where the two briefly struggled before Lee broke free and kept running.
The report said that a firearm fell out of Lee’s satchel as he was escaping, so the officer secured the weapon while calling for backup.
At this point, Lee jumped into the officer’s cruiser and sped off.
Lee did not go far before jumping out of the vehicle and trying to get away on foot. He was quickly located by officers and taken into custody.
Lee has been charged with simple assault, motor vehicle theft, possession of a firearm, resisting arrest, reckless driving and obstruction of justice. His bail was set by a judge at $20,000.
