Henryetta Police Chief: Stolen Patrol Car Incident Could Have Ended Worse

A man is in the hospital with serious injuries after Henryetta police say he stole and then crashed a patrol car.

Police say John Lee was in handcuffs but managed to slip them off, hop into the driver's seat of the patrol car, and take off.

Police Chief Steve Norman says Lee is well known to Henryetta officers and has a history of assaulting officers. He says that less than six months ago, Lee punched an officer in the face. This time, Lee stole the officer's patrol car, and within minutes, he lost control, hit a tree, and crashed along a gravel road west of town.

“It’s probably about 4 miles from the scene where he took the car to the actual crash site,” said Norman.

Norman says he’s thankful no innocent people or officers were hurt because Lee had the patrol car, which contained the officer’s phone and firearms. He says there was never a police pursuit because Lee crashed so quickly.

Norman says it all started when they received several 911 calls from people in a neighborhood about a man they said was acting erratically and vandalizing cars. Officers took Lee into custody, but because Lee is tribal, the Henryetta officer was waiting for Creek Nation Lighthorse Police to arrive.

“Mr. Lee had a dog with him and asked the officer if he would put the dog in the fence. When the officer went to take the dog and put him up, that’s when Mr. Lee slipped his cuffs, jumped in the driver’s seat of the officer’s unit, and took off,” said Norman.

He says this situation highlights the dangers officers face every day, as they never know what to expect.

“You’re here for 12 hours a day, and you always have to operate up here. You have to make sure you’re not relaxed, even on the little things. This man is just being held for another agency,” said Norman.

Norman says they’ve dealt with Lee several times in the past, and while it’s unfortunate that he’s seriously hurt, it could have ended much worse.

“He has to take responsibility for what he did, and nobody did that to him but himself,” said Norman.

Records show Lee was released from prison in 2019 after serving six years of a 10-year sentence for drugs.