Police: Man Steals Police Cruiser, Apprehended After Short Pursuit In Hyattsville
HYATTSVILLE, MD. (WJZ) — A man who had just been arrested for domestic assault is now facing multiple new charges after police said he stole a police cruiser and crashed it after a brief chase in Prince George's County on Saturday.
Police were called to the 2300 block of University Boulevard in Silver Spring for a domestic dispute at around 7:15 a.m.
Officers learned that 43-year-old Abdul Hakim had reportedly assaulted a female, but did not give her age. Officers saw physical bruising on the victim's face and arrested him for domestic assault.
Hakim, of Greenbelt, was taken to the Department of Corrections in Hyattsville for processing, but it was then decided he needed to be taken to the DOC in Upper Marlboro due to an underlying medical issue.
The arresting officer took Hakim back to his cruiser, and put him in the front passenger seat, then started the car to heat it up. The officer went back inside briefly, asking another officer to watch Hakim for a moment.
While the officer was inside, Hakim told the other officer that his handcuffs were too tight, and the officer adjusted them. Moments later, Hakim somehow got into the driver's seat and put the vehicle into gear, striking a brick wall and speeding away.
He was chased by officers, striking several cars in the pursuit before he crashed the cruiser at a park near 24th Avenue and Lyndon Street, abandoning the car to run on foot.
Hakim was arrested on 19th Avenue, with the handcuffs still on. No one was hurt during the pursuit or the capture.
Prince George's County Police Chief Hank Stawinski said in part in a statement that due to Hakim's actions, the agency is reviewing "the practice of leaving a cruiser running for any reason at all."
Hakim now not only faces the original domestic-related charge, but also assault, resisting arrest, reckless endangerment, unauthorized removal of a motor vehicle, motor vehicle theft, second-degree escape and theft- as well as traffic offenses.
