By David Goodhue
Miami Herald
MIAMI — A man forced himself into a woman’s car in the Palmetto General Hospital parking lot Thursday morning after fleeing the facility where he was brought under an involuntary psychiatric hold, Hialeah police say.
A Miami-Dade sheriff’s deputy had brought Eugene Jordan Brown, 35, to the hospital under Florida’s Baker Act, which allows authorities to place people experiencing mental-health emergencies under involuntary psychiatric care for up to 72 hours.
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After the deputy left the hospital, 2001 West 68th Street, he ran away, said Hialeah police spokesman Lt. Eddie Rodriguez, emphasizing the man did not escape the deputy’s custody.
When Brown reached the parking lot, he ran up to a woman getting out of her car and forced himself inside and drove off, Rodriguez said. There were no reported injuries, according to police.
Brown ran at least one red light and hit at least one car as he was fleeing, Miami Herald news partner CBS News Miami reported. The station interviewed the driver of one of the cars that Brown hit.
“They were chasing someone; no, he came through and hit me and hit a sign and kept going,” Ysidro Reyes said.
Hialeah police say they were not part of the pursuit once Brown left city limits, and the Florida Highway Patrol and Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office took over.
Video captured on several news stations’ helicopters showed deputies and troopers attempting PIT maneuvers — using the front of cruisers to disable fleeing cars — to stop the black Nissan sedan.
Troopers were finally able to execute a successful PIT maneuver near Northwest 79th Street and 17th Avenue.
Hialeah police say they are investigating the carjacking and hit-and-runs. It was not immediately clear what other charges Brown faced.
“We would like to extend our gratitude to the Florida Highway Patrol and Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in taking Brown into custody,” the Hialeah Police Department said in a statement.
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