A man who was caught on police dashboard cam stealing a police cruiser while handcuffed remains at large Monday.
Police said they caught 41-year-old Darren Douglas Porter burglarizing the shop in the 800-block of South Cherry Lane at about 7:20 a.m. Friday.
Officers detained Porter and cuffed him. They placed him in the back of the police car, shut the door and stepped away to talk to the store owner.
But Porter somehow got his cuffed hands in front of him and rolled down the window -- even though the back windows are not supposed to roll down.
"Unknown to us the back windows were still active so the suspect was able to hit the back window release to roll down the window and reach around and unlock the door from the outside," Lt. J.P. Bevering said. "We believe they came from the dealership with those disconnected, but they were not."
Police said Porter tiptoed to the driver's seat, got in and took off. White Settlement police received two 911 calls about a police car that was driving erratically.
He abandoned the police car at an apartment complex off Shenandoah Road and Calmont Avenue in West Fort Worth.
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Police said their chances of finding Porter are "very good."
"We know who he is. We've dealt with him previously," Bevering said. "We know his associates, so now we're in the process of contacting them and keeping an eye out for him."
Porter will face additional charges of felony theft and escape in addition to charges related to the burglary.
Bevering said the police department would check its nine other patrol cars to make sure the windows can't be rolled down. It had never happened before, he said.
