GARDEN CITY, Idaho — Three Garden City officers are recovering from injuries sustained while attempting to arrest a work-release inmate on Monday afternoon.
According to a social media post from the Garden City Police Department, officers were assisting the Idaho Department of Corrections (IDOC) Probation and Parole in locating a person on felony probation when they approached a man they thought to be their suspect inside a vehicle near E. 45 Street.
Officers later learned that the man inside the car was not their suspect. However, during the encounter, officers claim that they witnessed the man, identified as 32-year-old Jordan Pickett, attempting to hide drug contraband. Police say the contraband was in "plain view inside the vehicle."
IDOC officers then informed Garden City Police that the man in question was an inmate on a work release program.
When officers approached the vehicle, they claim Pickett refused to roll down his window, exit the vehicle, or show his hands.
Police say Pickett attempted to start his vehicle as officers broke the car's window in a bid to subdue the suspect. A struggle ensued between the officers and Pickett, and ultimately, Pickett placed the car in gear and drove through a six-foot cedar fence. He proceeded to drive through a "business complex at a high rate of speed," reports the Garden City Police Department. Pickett then drove over a concrete embankment before crashing into a Garden City Patrol car. The suspect fled on foot before being taken into custody.
Being an inmate, Pickett was returned to IDOC custody instead of being booked into the Ada County Jail.
As a result of the conflict, three Garden City Police officers were transported to a local hospital with minor injuries.
The Garden City Police Department is seeking to charge Jordan Picket with Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Controlled Substance, Evidence Destruction, Eluding, Malicious Injury to Property, Resisting and Obstructing, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Possession of a Legend Drug.
