A handcuffed Texas suspect turned a ride to jail into a terrifying freeway hijacking when he slipped loose, climbed into the driver’s seat of a police cruiser and sped off with an officer trapped in the back.
The chaos began with 37-year-old Dallas resident Stacey Huffman in custody, not behind the wheel.
The May 30 stop started over a registration violation in the 2300 block of South Marsalis Avenue, police said.
By the end of the stop, Huffman was facing allegations tied to an invalid license, drugs and an unlawful firearm.
Once inside the patrol car, Huffman allegedly slipped one hand out of the cuffs and kept his arms positioned behind his back to avoid giving himself away.
The ride toward jail started unraveling on northbound Interstate 35 near Illinois Avenue.
The video showed the first signs of trouble when Huffman got out of his seatbelt and began working at the rear door.
🚔 A decorated officer is behind bars 🚔 Stand with Lt. Shane Lamond and fight back against federal overreach! ➡️➡️➡️ Support his legal defense and help protect those who serve DONATE NOW!!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Around 6:10 p.m., the cruiser stopped on northbound I-35 near Illinois Avenue so officers could regain control of the back-seat prisoner.
That was when Huffman allegedly scrambled into the front seat.
Harper got inside before Huffman hit the gas; Kante was left standing back at Illinois Avenue.
Once the cruiser hit freeway speed, Harper was tossed around the back seat as Huffman swerved down the roadway.
The video showed Harper deploying his Taser while screaming for Huffman to stop.
“Stop the car! Stop the car! Stop the f***ing car!” Harper shouted.
The jolt did not end the ride. With the car still moving, Harper resorted to hitting Huffman in the head with his firearm.
Video showed the officer being tossed across the back seat as the cruiser veered down the roadway.
The escape ended when Huffman bailed through the driver’s-side door at roughly 50 mph, according to police.
In about 30 seconds, the stolen cruiser covered roughly 1,000 feet.
After Huffman bailed out, Harper lunged into the front seat and regained control of the cruiser before it crashed.
Huffman ended up unconscious and back in custody. Medics took both Huffman and Harper to a hospital.
Along with the earlier arrest allegations, Huffman is expected to face escape and unauthorized-use charges once his medical treatment allows. The case is now with Dallas police special investigators.
Earlier that same month, an Arkansas police chase ended with a four-month-old baby being thrown from a flipping SUV.
The Arkansas case began with what state police described as a traffic stop attempt on May 24 that quickly turned into a 100 mph pursuit.
The black SUV eventually topped 100 mph, weaving across the roadway before the crash.
Dashcam footage showed the vehicle skidding into grass before barreling forward through clouds of dust with a passenger-side door hanging open.
The chase ended in a violent rollover through a yard and into a pole. A four-month-old baby was thrown clear as the SUV rolled.
Officers approached the wreck with weapons out, then one of them broke from the response to pick up the baby and carry the child away.
Three more young children were pulled from the overturned SUV and checked at the scene.
None of the children had been restrained, according to authorities. The children escaped with minor injuries and were hospitalized.
Troopers later said they used a vehicle maneuver to stop the SUV without knowing four children were inside.
28-year-old suspect Tyrice Fletcher eventually lost control, and authorities later notified the children’s mother.
Fletcher was jailed in Ouachita County on charges including fleeing, four child-endangerment counts and gun- and drug-related offenses.
Arkansas State Police Col. Mike Hagar blasted the decision to run from police with unrestrained children in the vehicle.
“That parent made a conscious choice to engage in that activity with four children in the car, unrestrained at that, I mean, it’s absolutely appalling,” Hagar told reporters.
He said the presence of children can affect whether troopers continue a pursuit, but only if officers know they are there.
“Certainly, children being present in a vehicle with a fleeing suspect, that’s certainly going to be a huge factor in whether or not you continue that pursuit or not.”
“In this situation, as well as the one that we had a couple months ago, where there was a toddler in the car, the trooper had no idea,” Hagar explained.
Asked whether the trooper would be punished, Hagar pushed back and said the blame belonged on the suspect who fled.
“Punished for what? They don’t know if there’s a child in the car. I’ve said it so many times, we have got to get out of this mindset of focusing on the ibuprofen and start looking at the headache.”
“We do not initiate pursuits. We have never initiated one pursuit, ever, not once. We respond to the reckless criminal actions of the suspect,” Hagar said.
