A Southern California sheriff's deputy arrested in an altercation at a park is back in custody after he escaped from a patrol car in a getaway caught on security camera video.
Sheriff's spokesman Ray Pruitt told The Associated Press that Edward Tucker was arrested Thursday afternoon in Oildale, an unincorporated community near Bakersfield.
The Kern County sheriff's deputy was originally arrested after allegedly flashing a gun at a 12-year-old girl. Tucker, an 18-year veteran, had been on leave for a year when he allegedly confronted a group of girls and flashed the gun Saturday night in Bakersfield.
The 44-year-old was arrested but released from jail on bond.
He was arrested again Tuesday after a friend called police and asked for a welfare check. The Associated Press reported that he was rearrested in a park for allegedly being under the influence.
He managed to escaped from the patrol car as it was parked in the basement of the jail. Deputies were filling out paperwork at the time on the trunk of a nearby car, according to authorities.
Tucker, in double-handcuffs, might have used a handcuffs key to escape, the sheriff's department said. He had asked that one of the windows be rolled down because he felt nauseous, according to the department.
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Security cameras show him casually walking from the vehicle before breaking into a run alongside a wall.
Video of the escape was released Thursday.
"From a law enforcement perspective you want to scream at the videotape," Sheriff Donnie Youngblood told KGET-TV.
Tucker was considered to be armed and dangerous.
"It's not uncommon for us to double handcuff, is not uncommon for us to roll the window down so that a suspect can get air," Youngblood said. "But it is uncommon to not pay attention to that suspect."
The department is reviewing the case.
