Police report: Escaped DC inmate still handcuffed when he took off from hospital

WASHINGTON ( DC News Now ) — An inmate who escaped DC Police custody Sunday night was still handcuffed with his hands shackled behind his back when he took off from a Southeast hospital, according to police reports obtained by DC News Now.

Police said 27-year-old Derrick Ross-Simms escaped officer custody just after midnight on Sunday while he was being taken to treatment at United Medical Center (UMC) along Southern Avenue SE.

Additional police reports show Ross-Simms was initially arrested along Chesapeake Street SE Saturday evening.

Officers said they saw him riding a scooter with a large gun magazine hanging out of his sweatshirt pocket. When officers stopped him, they said the 27-round mag fell to the ground.

They took a ghost gun and ammo from him, along with plastic baggies with drugs in them.

He was held at the 7th District Station in Southeast until his escape in the early hours of Sunday, when officers were taking him to UMC for treatment. It was not clear why he was being taken to the hospital, but police said he complained of wrist pain from a previous injury.

Police say that’s when he escaped with his hands still handcuffed behind him.

On Monday, nearby neighbors said they felt confident police would be able to track him down.

“In the end, people always get caught. No matter how long you’re on the run,” said Alonzo Coleman. “Whether it’s a week or a month. Everybody gets caught.”

Just last year, a similar incident happened involving an inmate in DC Police custody.

Last September, murder suspect Christopher Haynes got away from officers at George Washington University Hospital in Northwest, leading officers on a nearly two-month-long manhunt before his arrest.

Police are asking anyone with information on Ross-Simms’s whereabouts to call police. There’s a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to his arrest.

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