Taser Use Effective in Thwarting Escape Attempt

Once again, Tasers prove their value when dealing with escalating and violent behavior without resorting to lethal force. An inmate who was serving time in a Noblesville, Indiana Hamilton County Community Corrections facility managed to escape for a short time.

Twenty-five year old Aaron Harlow is a convicted burglar who has been in the community corrections program since September due to a probation violation. According to Community Corrections Executive Director Ralph Watson, Harlow’s release had been scheduled for November of 2010.

Harlow had been doing well in the program until last weekend when he told corrections officers about a mishap in the shower. After reporting that he slipped and fell he was taken to Riverview Hospital by ambulance. Authorities said that shortly after the inmate was examined a hospital security officer was preparing to drive him back to the corrections facility when the prisoner made his break.

Shortly thereafter, the alert Sgt. Dennis Quakenbush caught sight of Harlow a few blocks from the hospital. The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department officer ordered him to surrender. According to spokesperson Deputy Vicky Dunbar, the escapee had other plans. Instead of stopping, he tried to climb over a nearby fence, at which point Quakenbush fired the Taser, bringing the incident to a rapid conclusion.

Nobody knows if Harlow was actually injured in the shower or if it was just part of his escape plan. In the end he was charged with resisting law enforcement and escape from detention. Both counts are class D felonies.