Handcuffed Suspect Slips Away Man Squeezes Through Patrol Car Window While Deputy’S Back Is Turned

Handcuffed and apparently drunk, a 39-year-old Coeur d’Alene man escaped from the back of a sheriff’s patrol car and remained at large Thursday, sheriff’s reports said.

Mathew J. Coleman allegedly slithered out of the patrol car’s open back window and slipped out of sight late Tuesday when a sheriff’s deputy briefly left his car unattended.

Deputy Eric Hildebrandt had rolled down the window so Coleman could get some fresh air while he investigated the man for drunken driving. Hildebrandt then helped a tow truck driver search for the keys to the car.

He returned to his patrol car 5 minutes later and noticed Coleman had fled. Deputies searched the area and Coleman’s home on Bananza Road but were unable to find him.

Reports said Hildebrandt had sprayed an uncooperative Coleman with pepper spray and arrested him for eluding a police officer before he escaped. Coleman had been pulled over for erratic driving.

According to a sheriff’s report, Hildebrandt noticed a black Corvette driving unusually slow on Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive near Mullan Avenue about 10:50 p.m. The deputy turned around to follow the car and said it swerved across the center line several times.

After turning onto Sunnyside Road, the car suddenly accelerated to 85 mph, Hildebrandt said. The deputy pursued the car until it turned into a driveway on Ponderosa Drive.

Coleman allegedly refused to obey Hildebrandt’s commands to get out of the car and lay on the ground, prompting the deputy to spray him with pepper spray. A scuffle ensued as Hildebrandt struggled to handcuff Coleman.