Man Dies After Escaping Police Custody, Jumping Into Pond With Handcuffs On

Tulsa Police say a man is dead after he ran from police custody, jumped into a pond while wearing handcuffs, and drowned.

Police recovered the man's body from the water at Tulsa's Shoreline Apartments early Thursday morning.

"For someone who is in custody to decide to A run from the police, to begin with, and B kick open a door, jump over a railing, into a pond, yes it’s tragic," said Captain Richard Meulenberg.

Police say they got a call around 4:40 Thursday morning that a man had broken into the Shoreline Apartments office building. When they got there, Police found the front door shattered, and a man not wearing any clothes. Meulenberg says while officers were gathering the man's wet clothes, he took off, kicked open the back door, and jumped off a balcony and into the pond outside.

“They go under the water looking for him, they saw him in the water, tried to get further in, and with all their gear and everything else, couldn’t find the suspect at that point," he said.

Police say they went into the water to try and save him, but couldn't find the man.

“You gotta remember, it’s pitch dark, and officers were out there literally trying to feel around, so when they jumped into the water, they could see him go down," he said.

Police recovered the man's body several hours later.

Captain Meulenberg says this was an unexpected and tragic situation.

“This person was in our custody, and we are obviously responsible for his safety, but at some point when someone’s going to make a series of terrible decisions on their own, we can only do so much," he said.

Police have not released the man's name at this time.

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