The judge threw down his robe and leapt into action, pursuing two men fleeing his courtroom
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When two inmates tried to make a run for it after a hearing at a Washington state courtroom, the judge would have nothing of it.
Lewis County Court Judge R.W. Buzzard threw down his robe and leapt into action, pursuing men – identified as Tanner Jacobson, 22, and Kodey Howard, 28 – across courthouse hallways and down a stairwell.
In security camera footage, Jacobson was leading while Howard followed close behind. Jacobson was able to escape from the court via a fire exit at the bottom of the stairwell, but the judge was able to collar Howard at the exit.
“I was shocked at first. I didn’t know what to think,” Buzzard told KOMO News.
The judge said that by the time the men, who were still in handcuffs, hit the door, he thought about how nobody was between the inmates and the street. He said he wanted to at least find out where they were headed.
“Once I got to the stairwell I knew I was going to be able to catch the one that was just in front of me because I immediately started gaining on him. I was yelling at them all the way down the stairs to 'stop, you're making things worse,’” he said.
Authorities caught Jacobson just a few blocks from the courthouse.
Buzzard also explained why he immediately took off his robe before going after the inmates. He said that a case in April devolved to a litigant attacking a lawyer, forcing him to wrestle the litigant to the floor because the courtroom didn’t have security personnel since it was just a civil case.
“I found out at that time that grappling in a robe is very restrictive. I couldn't imagine what running down the stairs and being in a robe, so I got it off as soon as I could and went after him,” Buzzard said.
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