'It's very concerning': Man steals trooper's cruiser while in custody, authorities say
The Iowa State Patrol said a man stole a cruiser Tuesday afternoon and led authorities on a chase.
Brandon Eugene Doerring, of Dallas Center, is charged in the case.
According to Iowa State Patrol Trooper Alex Dinkla, a trooper checking on a disabled vehicle on Interstate 80 near Dexter, Iowa, spotted Doerring walking along the roadway.
Dinkla said the trooper found drug paraphernalia on Doerring and took him into custody, but the man was somehow able to steal the trooper's vehicle.
"The officer was doing some investigation onto that other vehicle as he had the person in his patrol car, and that person was able to slip the handcuffs — or we're not sure yet," Dinkla said. “We'll have to look into that. That's part of our investigation that we're gonna have to figure out kind of what happened with that."
Authorities said Doerring took an unmarked patrol cruiser and led officers from the patrol, Dallas County deputies and West Des Moines police on a chase through rural roads.
The pursuit ended at about 1:45 p.m. in Madison County, Iowa, where Doerring was taken into custody.
"“For somebody to steal a squad car, this is not something that's usual," Dinkla said. "It's not something we're accustomed to. So, when this happens, it's very concerning when somebody has a will to want to do this to a (trooper's) car and take that."
The Iowa State Patrol and a neighbor told sister station KCCI that Doerring was still handcuffed as he exited the car.
He faces numerous charges.