WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A one-legged man not under arrest broke into a sheriff’s department vehicle in East Tennessee and allegedly stole the car.
Hours later, he was found on the side of a Williamson County Road.
Captain Rodney King told News 2 the arrest was unusual.
It all happened Sunday Night. Bodycam shows Williamson County deputy Jamie Knox pulling up on a Campbell County Sheriff’s vehicle that is parked suspiciously on the side of the road.
The lights are off and the deputy knows the car has recently been reported stolen from the Campbell County Sheriff’s department in Jacksboro Tennessee, more than 200 miles away.
“It’s not common you see a police car parked on the side of the road at 9 p.m. at night with no lights and sirens, with nothing running,” said Captain King.
On the video, you can hear the deputy, gun drawn, ordering the driver, later identified as Frank Ramsey, to show his hands.
It quickly became obvious to the law officer that the 43-year-old car thief was an amputee and was missing his right leg.
You can hear the deputy yell, “Can you work your way to the ground on your knee?”
Once Ramsey is on the ground, Knox approaches cautiously.
He asks Ramsey if he is armed. The 43-year-old says he is not.
Ramsey also told the officer he knows he is being arrested because he took the car.
Deputies worked together to get Ramsey to his feet and then assist him to a waiting squad car.
Captain King says his men did a good job assessing the situation.
“Yes, he first noticed that when he put his legs out of the car when he first ordered him out of the car.”
According to published reports, Frank Ramsey broke out the passenger window, found keys in the car, and drove it until it ran out of gas.
Sources say Ramsey was not under arrest at the time of the car theft, though he does have a history of vandalism and public intoxication.
Ramsey is currently in the Williamson County Jail charged with theft over $10,000.
The car is being held for the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office.
Officials say there were no weapons in the squad car when they arrived.
