Man In Handcuffs Escapes From OKC Squad Car

An Oklahoma City man escaped from the back of a squad car while handcuffed early Monday, according to Oklahoma City police. Officers spent hours searching for the man, who now faces several felony complaints.

Ethan Ace Williams' criminal history includes burglary and drug charges from April of 2013. Police say he has avoided the courtroom ever since. According to a police report, Williams was stranded in the rain around 2:30 a.m. Monday. That's when an officer offered Williams a ride and quickly grew suspicious.

"We found out that [Williams] had lied about his name," Sgt. Jennifer Wardlow with Oklahoma City police said. "[Officers] did actually find out who he was. They saw a picture of him and confirmed that this man did, in fact, have two felony warrants for his arrest."

By the time police learned of Williams' real identity, they had already arrived at his Northwest Side apartment complex near N.W. 122nd Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. That's where things started to go downhill for police.

The arresting officer reports Williams was complaining of shoulder pain, so police used two handcuffs on his arms. In the incident report, the arresting officer said he placed Williams in handcuffs through an open window while Williams was seated in the back of the police car. Moments later, with the officer's back turned, Williams took advantage of the open window and vanished, according to the report.

"It's obviously very frustrating for the officers involved," Wardlow said.

It didn't take long for neighbors to hear about the police mishap.

"From what I heard, they had him in custody, and then he escaped out the window," neighbor Jeremy Deavenport said.

Deavenport lives below Williams' apartment. He heard the commotion early Monday as police spent hours searching. Deavenport says he still can't understand why officers left Williams alone with enough time to escape.

Before Williams' dash, police say they went through his pockets and found punch tools commonly used to break into vehicles.

Williams was rearrested at Remington Park in northeast Oklahoma City early Monday evening without incident, according to Wardlow.