Deputy fired after inmate escaped, rode atop patrol car

ABILENE, Texas – A West Texas sheriff’s deputy has been fired after video showed him driving down a Texas highway with an inmate sitting on the roof.

The deputy had been transporting 31-year-old Martin Gregory Estrada when the man broke a patrol car window and climbed onto the vehicle’s roof. The deputy summoned help and didn’t stop until backup arrived.

A Taylor County Sheriff’s Office spokesman says the deputy was terminated for violating office policies on inmate safety and security.

Officials say Estrada was being taken about 150 miles (241 kilometres) from a hospital facility in Wichita Falls to Abilene. Investigators say Estrada slipped out of his handcuffs at one point, shattered a back window in the patrol car and climbed on the roof.

Video of the July 18 incident was recorded by a motorist following the patrol car.