By Time Eberly
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ATLANTA, Ga. - Atlanta police arrested a 33-year-old Gainesville man early Saturday after they say he stole a police cruiser and led officers on a chase through the city.
Wilmer Evans was taken into custody at 3:40 a.m. after a Georgia State University police officer performed a “pit maneuver” on the stolen cruiser, bumping the vehicle to force it to stop, Atlanta police spokesman Ron Campbell said.
Evans suffered some lacerations and was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment.
Campbell said he did not know what charges Evans will face.
The incident began around 3 a.m., when an officer tried to pull over Evans near Lenox Square on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, Campbell said.
The officer put Evans in handcuffs and put him in the rear of a police car. When the officer left the car to get Evans’ car towed, Evans slipped the handcuffs to the front of his body, crawled through a window that separated the front and back seats and drove off, Campbell said.
Other police officers who were in the area pursued Evans to Howell Mill Road and 14th Street, where the Georgia State officer halted the cruiser, Campbell said.
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