By Joanna Putman
Police1
AKRON, Ohio — Body camera footage released by the Akron Police Department shows the rescue of a 2-year-old and the capture of a car thief turned kidnapper, WKYC reported.
The March 1 incident began when Larry Spence, 54, stole a pickup truck with a sleeping child buckled in the back seat, according to the report. After receiving the amber alert, Akron police utilized Flock Safety license plate readers to pinpoint the location of the pickup truck.
About 80 minutes after the incident, an officer spotted the truck parked in a dirt lot. Body camera video shows officers approaching the truck with guns drawn. As they neared the windows, officers saw that Spence was not in the car, but the little boy was.
The officers took the boy out of the car seat and offered him food, water, books and toys, according to the report.
“Do you like Dinos?” one officer asks, offering the boy a dinosaur story book. “My little boy likes dinos.”
Other officers on the scene entered the building near where the car was parked. The suspect was not inside, according to the report.
Spence was captured about a half mile away from where the vehicle was found, according to the report. He has been charged with kidnapping, abduction and grand theft of a motor vehicle.
