NELSON, B.C. - A Nelson, B.C. man will serve jail time on weekends, with the exception of Christmas, after escaping handcuffed from the back of a police cruiser then stealing it.
The bizarre incident happened in October 2007 in the small B.C. interior town, while the man was pulled over in a car with two others on the suspicion of impaired driving.
Joseph English, 32, took off on foot while being questioned outside of the vehicle by police.
He was chased down by the officers, caught, then handcuffed and placed in the back of the police car. The officers then went to deal with the other two occupants of the car.
While their backs were turned, English managed to get out of the secure area of the cruiser and drive off with it.
Police pursued him, but English lost them after a few blocks.
When the officers returned to the scene, the other two occupants of the car had also disappeared.
Later that night, the stolen police car was found abandoned on a nearby service road.
English later showed up at the Kootenay Lake Hospital with several injuries, including a broken wrist, a broken rib and a subsequent collapsed lung.
In court Friday, English's lawyer asked for probation without jail time and said English would pay the $507.46 in damages he caused to the police cruiser.
The judge agreed English should pay for the damages, but added a 60-day intermittent sentence, requiring him to serve his sentence over weekends, starting immediately.
English is allowed to stay out of jail over the Christmas weekend.
English said after court Friday that his actions might set a bad example for others, and that he should be punished, but thought community service would have been appropriate.
