PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Multnomah County is investigating the case of a disabled inmate who wound up crawling from the downtown Portland jail when he was released because his wheelchair could not be located.
Sheriff’s chief deputy of corrections Mike Shults says it’s not common practice “for anyone to crawl out of our custody.”
Portland police arrested 37-year-old Scott Hamilton on Sunday evening for sitting in his wheelchair, drinking a beer on public property. He was sought on an earlier arrest warrant for the same offense so officers drove him to the jail, giving him a receipt for the wheelchair.
Hamilton lost his lower right leg in a motorcycle accident.
When he was released early Monday, his wheelchair was nowhere to be found. The Oregonian says Hamilton wound up scooting on his rear out through the jail lobby doors.
