Escaping inmate runs toward police headquarters in his underwear

The man escaped at the court annex building near the 7th and Ann area around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, and then ran north, in the direction of the police department headquarters, which is at 6th and Minnesota. He tried to make his way through some parking garage areas.

He was apprehended only a few minutes later near 6th, said Lt. Kelli Bailiff, spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Department.

The inmate, charged with second-degree murder, was being taken from court to his cell when he attacked a deputy and escaped, she said. The female deputy was hit in the head, face and body, and suffered minor injuries, Lt. Bailiff said. At first the deputy did not respond well to her injuries, but now she has improved, she added.

She said she believed the gray and white jumpsuit the prisoner was wearing may have been ripped off during the struggle. More information may become available after the prisoner and the deputy are interviewed, she added.

An off-duty Kansas City, Kan., police officer, working at the Board of Public Utilities, heard the call and saw the suspect running in his boxers, Lt. Bailiff said.

The inmate jumped over a retaining wall, sustained an injury, the officer followed, and apprehended him. The officer sustained a cut to his arm, she said.

“We swarmed the area on foot and in vehicle, and in moments he was back in custody,” Lt. Bailiff said.