PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland police arrested a homeless man who fell asleep in a patrol car and couldn’t get out.
Sgt. Pete Simpson says an officer heard 30-year-old Ruben Turner yelling from the police car Tuesday in the Southeast Precinct parking lot.
Turner told the officer he accidentally locked himself inside after deciding to sleep in the back seat. Unlike a regular vehicle, a patrol car has no handle to get out.
The precinct is not staffed 24 hours, so Turner couldn’t get rescued until morning.
He tried, however, by writing “pleH” — Help — with his finger in the window condensation.
Simpson says Turner damaged the car by ripping out foam padding. He was jailed on charges of criminal mischief, criminal trespass and unlawful entry into a motor vehicle.
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