Suspect Back In Custody After Sapulpa Police Say He Escaped In Handcuffs

A suspect who Sapulpa Police say escaped from them in handcuffs is now back in custody.

Sapulpa Police searched for several hours for that man they say fought with officers during arrest.

Police were out searching for the man in some woods near Route 66 and West 100th Street.

Officers said it all started when they got a call for three men acting suspiciously in an area where there’s been a lot of thefts from businesses.

Officers said they found three men matching the description around 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon and patted them down for the officer’s safety.

They arrested one man because they said they found stolen property in his pickup.

One of the other men fought with an officer, and a loaded gun fell from his waist, police said. They eventually put him in handcuffs, but said he managed to run away from the officer after another struggle.

They said he ran into a nearby wooded area, and that’s when officers from several agencies swarmed in and set up a perimeter.

Police called in drones and K9 teams to help locate the man. They said that’s because the area is very dense with trees and brush, which makes it too difficult for an officer to see.

“It's really hard to cover unless you practically walk onto somebody, so that’s why it’s important that you have K9 for sniffing. Even a drone in a case like this, with the temperature. I don’t know if the fleer, it would pick up that much, but if we can catch some movement, you never know,” Sapulpa Police Captain Troy Foreman said. 

Police said the K9 teams were exhausted and called off the search around 7 p.m.

The third man was not arrested.