Handcuffed man accused of stealing police car surrenders

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William Blankenship III

Updated: February 15, 2012 8:05AM

A handcuffed drug suspect accused of stealing a police cruiser while handcuffed in northwest Indiana, and then using the police radio to ask where to find the keys to the cuffs, turned himself in after two days on the run, authorities said Friday.

William F. Blankenship, 22, was taken into custody late Thursday night at his family’s home in Knox, Ind. He had been charged Wednesday with auto theft.

“We’re definitely relieved he went ahead and turned himself in and is now in custody,” said Sgt. Larry LaFlower, public information officer with the Porter County Sheriff’s Department.

Blankenship had been arrested Tuesday on drug charges at a gas station in nearby Kouts. Police said that as the arresting officer searched Blankenship’s vehicle, he somehow escaped from the police car’s back seat, climbed into the front and drove off, then used the police radio to ask where to find the car’s cigarette lighter and a key to unlock his handcuffs.

The officer whose squad car was stolen said he only realized the cruiser was gone when he looked up and saw the taillights leaving the parking lot.

“I probably had a really dumb look on my face for maybe half a second,” Kouts police Sgt. Dave Johnston said Thursday.

Johnston, an 11-year veteran, said he believes Blankenship managed to contort himself to get the handcuffs in front of him, then hopped into the front seat and put the car into reverse before pulling away. The squad car was found in a drainage ditch Wednesday, and authorities recovered the police weapons stored in the cruiser.

Johnston said he handcuffed Blankenship’s hands behind his back and put him in the back of the running patrol car Tuesday night after spotting what he thought was drug paraphernalia in his car. The officer informed Blankenship he was under arrest, then went back to search the car more thoroughly. Johnston said he was searching for only another minute or two when he looked up.

Johnston said he was “a little embarrassed” because he knows a lot of people will assume he did something wrong, but he said he has been cleared of any wrongdoing by Kouts’ police chief, James Boyce.

Boyce last week said it is common practice for police to leave their squad cars running due to the power needed to run the computers, radio and lights. And Blankenship was calm and cooperative at the time of his arrest.

Blankenship is potentially facing additional drug possession charges. Kouts police said a significant amount of heroin and methamphetamines, baggies, scales and paraphernalia were found in his car.