How this doesn’t end up with an incredibly large amount of shots fired totally beggars belief, but still, here we are.
A US woman in Texas arrested on suspicion of shoplifting has embarked on an incredibly bold attempt at evading arrest by slipping out of her handcuffs and stealing the police car she was sitting in. Again, this story ends with her remaining very much alive.
33-year-old Toscha Sponsler was arrested by Lufkin Police Department officials after calls about a possible shoplifter were made this past Saturday. After a brief foot pursuit, Sponsler was arrested and placed in a police squad car while officers inspected a bag of stolen goods allegedly found in her possession.
While the police officials were carrying out the search, Sponsler removed her seatbelt, wriggled out of the handcuffs placed on her, climbed through the open partition in the car, and stole the shit out of the cop car.
She then lead police on a 23-minute car chase that reached speeds of up to 100 mph (160.9 kph) before she lost control of the vehicle and was arrested again.
All this, owing to the fact that it largely took place inside police cars, was captured on camera. The footage is nuts.
Throughout the course of the chase, officers observed Sponsler reaching for the car’s mounted shotgun which was mechanically locked to the vehicle.
The partition in the vehicle was left wide open to allow more air conditioning to reach her in the back seat, as well as to allow officers to communicate with her during the course of their investigations. Policy dictates the partition is shut and locked when the car is in motion. Police cars in Texas have since been fitted with a screw that prevents the partition from opening any further than four inches.
Unsurprisingly, Sponsler was levelled with a raft of charges stemming from the incident.
Stealing a US police car, evading cops, reaching for a shotgun, and somehow walking out alive? Regardless of how long she cops in jail for this, that’s a win. A macabre win.
