SAN DIEGO (KFMB/CNN) – A handcuffed suspect escaped from police custody Sunday and tried to make a run for it by jumping into the San Diego Bay, but he was quickly re-arrested.
The 42-year-old suspect, accused of domestic violence, made it about a mile and a half from the police station to the harbor while still wearing handcuffs. He jumped into the water when officers spotted him and gave chase.
The officers cut off the suspect’s escapes routes and threw out a life preserver, encouraging the suspect to swim to it, according to witness Dorothy Stuhr.
“The police were all there, right on the rocks, trying to get him to come out, and he wouldn’t come out,” Stuhr said.
Harbor police brought in boats, but the suspect still refused to give up.
Finally, after about 20 minutes in the water, the man got tired of swimming and surrendered. He walked out onto the rocks where he was re-arrested, according to Lt. Charles Lara with the San Diego Police Department.
“He looked like he was tired of it all. I mean, that water’s pretty nasty. He looked wet, cold and tired,” Stuhr said.
The man was on the run for approximately an hour. He had initially been arrested in the morning after he was accused of attacking a woman and escaped from a police station during booking.
Copyright 2017 KFMB, Dorothy Stuhr via CNN. All rights reserved.
