HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. – An inmate in Highland Park asked to use the bathroom and overpowered a jailer, attacking him and stealing a Taser, officials said.
The exchange happened before 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, at a Highland Park police facility off of Woodward Avenue. It was not at the city hall facility or the new substation.
Officials said an inmate asked to go to the bathroom and then attacked the jailer who let him out.
“A prisoner overpowered one of our jailers,” Highland Park police Chief James McMahon said. “He attempted to escape. He assaulted our jailer.”
McMahon said the jailer got punched, but he’s doing OK. The inmate took the jailer’s Taser and tried to use it, but it didn’t work.
A Taser was used on the inmate to take him back into custody.
“He was contained within the jail, with no way out,” McMahon said. “Ultimately, he was taken back into custody minutes later.”
The chief said there was never any danger to the public.
Sources told Local 4 that the inmate is now in a holding chair and operations at the facility have mostly returned to normal.