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Family Says Feisty Suspect Crashed Cop Car

DALLAS (CN) - A family sued Dallas, claiming a feisty burglary suspect broke free from handcuffs, jumped into a police car and crashed it into their home.

The Atkinson family sued Dallas in Dallas County Court.

They claim that Dallas police arrested (nonparty) Jesus Ramos at 11 p.m. on Aug. 2, 2011, as a burglary suspects. Ramos "struggled so vigorously that he bent the handcuffs and rendered them unusable," the complaint states.

Another officer handcuffed Ramos and put him into the back of a squad car that did not have a cage between the front and back seats. Ramos continued to resist, making it impossible to put on a seat belt, so an officer radioed for another car with a cage and stood outside the car to wait, leaving Ramos alone inside the car with the keys in the ignition, according to the complaint.

"Mr. Ramos broke free of his of his handcuffs, jumped into the front seat of Officer Juarez' squad car and began driving off," the complaint states. "Officer Juarez chased after the squad car and got into the back seat, then began wrestling with Mr. Ramos for control of the steering wheel."

During the struggle, Ramos lost control of the car and it crashed into the Atakinsons' house, the family says.

Two days later, the Atkinsons gave the city written notice of the damages, including loss of use of the property as a rental home.

The family seeks damages for negligence. They are represented by Phil Burleson, of Plano.

Follow @davejourno
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