DETROIT – A 16-year-old boy was able to move his handcuffs from behind him to the front and escape police custody after being arrested for carrying a concealed weapon, according to Detroit police.
Chas Taylor, of Muskegon, was taken into custody Tuesday morning in the 1900 block of Edwald Circle on Detroit's west side for carrying a concealed weapon and resisting and obstructing an officer, police said.
Recommended Videos
UPDATE: Teen found hiding in alley
Taylor was handcuffed, detained and taken to the 10th Precinct at 12000 Livernois, police said.
While at the precinct, he was able to move his handcuffs from behind him to in front of his body and flee from officers, according to authorities.
"While in the rear of the 10th Precinct, he was able to escape police custody on foot," Detroit police Cmdr. Nick Kyriacou said. "At that point, he was handcuffed in the front."
Officers set up a perimeter where Taylor was last seen, but he wasn't found.
Taylor was seen by a citizen around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, but police couldn't find him, police said.
Shortly after the first viewing, a citizen called police and reported a person who matched Taylor's description climbing into a back window of a building. Police set up another perimeter, but the building is dilapidated, so officials couldn't continue the search inside.
"It's quite a dilapidated building," Kyriacou said. "It's been exposed to the elements for quite some time. It had a couple fires. The staircases inside are literally crumbling."
Police said their plan is to create a search and rescue team to enter the building.
He might still be wearing handcuffs, police said.
Taylor is about 5 feet, 7 inches tall with a very thin build. He was last seen wearing a dark T-shirt, dark blue sweatpants and no shoes, Kyriacou said.
Taylor had formerly been a resident student at Job Corps at the south end of the 10th Precinct, according to Kyriacou.
"There's obviously things we need to look at to find out what went wrong in the handling of this young man for him to actually be able to escape," Kyriacou said. "Right now, at this point, we're focused on trying to get him into custody, but obviously, we have some procedure issues we need to look into to find out what our officers did wrong to allow this to happen."
Kyriacou said residents shouldn't approach Taylor because he found officers and could potentially be a danger to the public.
Anyone who has information on his whereabouts is asked to call Detroit police at 313-596-1000 or 313-596-1040.