Sly Salem Woman Arrested After Stealing Police Car

She manipulate her handcuffs and escaped from the rear seat of the patrol vehicle.

The stolen police car crashed into some landscaping materials at Sunnyview Rd NE and Childs Ave NE. Photo: Salem Police

(SALEM, Ore.) - A Salem woman is in custody on multiple charges following an incident where she was able to manipulate her restraints and steal a Salem Police patrol vehicle.

The incident began at approximately 3:15 pm when Salem Police officers contacted 25-year old Rebecca J Payne of Salem. She was at a motel in the 1400 block of Hawthorne Ave NE and had valid warrants for her arrest.

At the time Payne was being taken into custody, she was complaining of severe pain due to the physical nature of her body.

As a result, the officers took measures to alleviate her discomfort as much as possible and modified the application of the handcuffs on her. They also opened the vehicle windows in order to further minimize her discomfort.

As the officers were addressing other subjects at the scene, Payne was able to manipulate her handcuffs to the point that she escaped from the rear seat of the patrol vehicle, then got into the driver's seat and drove off with the vehicle.

Other Salem officers pursued Payne for a short distance, but her erratic operation of the patrol vehicle caused officers to discontinue the pursuit out of concern for public safety.

However, officers were able to monitor the location of the patrol vehicle and continued to follow in a safer manner.

The vehicle was located a short distance away, crashed into some landscaping materials at Sunnyview Rd NE and Childs Ave NE.

Payne was located by a police canine hiding a short distance away and taken into custody without further incident.

There were no injuries in the incident and the patrol vehicle suffered moderate damage.

Payne is being booked into the Marion County Corrections Facility on a warrant for Parole Violation as well as charges of Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Attempting to Elude an Officer, Reckless Driving, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, Criminal Mischief and Escape.

This incident remains under investigation and further charges are possible.