Handcuffed Inmate Attempts to Escape From Courthouse by Jumping Out of Second-Story Window
By: A Tennessee inmate attempted to escape during a hearing by jumping out the second-floor window of the courthouse, according to the Cocke County Sheriff's Office.
Surveillance video from inside the courtroom and outside the building captured the brazen escape attempt.
Michael Smith, 33, was in court Monday with six other inmates. Smith stood up from the bench "numerous" times to get a tissue from a table near the window, the sheriff's office said.
Video shows Smith walk over to the tissue box one more time before he opened the window and leaped out.
Footage from outside the building shows Smith in his striped prison uniform falling down and nearly hitting a trio of air conditioning units below before landing on his back.
Smith, who was shackled and handcuffed, got up and tried to run, but was quickly stopped by a sergeant standing nearby, according to the sheriff's office.
Smith was taken to a medical center to be treated for minor injuries.
He is facing a charge of attempting to escape. Smith was originally in custody at the Cocke County Jail on a fugitive from justice warrant from another state.