More questions than answers about public safety following stolen squad car in Cassopolis
CASS COUNTY, Mich. -- There are more questions than answers from the public regarding public safety following a search for a stolen police vehicle in Cassopolis Wednesday.
The stolen cop car is back with police and the man accused of stealing it is in custody, but there are still a lot of questions surrounding what happened.
A big question, made clear on social media, is why it took law enforcement several hours to notify the public that there was an armed and dangerous man on the loose driving a marked squad car.
ABC57 asked the Chief of Police for the Village of Cassopolis Police Department that very question and hasn't received a response.
A press release about the search was sent just before 5:00 Wednesday evening, but according to that release, the suspect took off with the car at around 1:00 in the afternoon.
That's a four-hour delay in letting people know of an active situation impacting public safety.
The release they sent provided a photo of what the stolen squad car looks like, and a description of the suspect: white male, approximately 43-years-old, 5'4, 200 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes.
They didn't include a name, but they did say he was possibly armed and dangerous.
The release didn't mention where the initial stop happened, why the man was getting arrested in the first place, or what he could have been armed with.
It's also unclear how he stole the squad car, how many officers were around when it happened, and how they tracked him down.
ABC57 is working to learn more details on the situation for the sake of public safety.