Hardy Saga Continues

According to this morning's News-Leader, police have not yet caught Robert Hardy, who escaped from custody at Cox North early Tuesday, and made for some interesting times around the neighborhood, including the Drury University campus.

Police are being mum on exactly what happened, but say they "were 'absolutely not' withholding information because the escape was embarrassing for the department...."

Greene County Prosecutor Darrell Moore has an interesting take:

[Moore] noted that officers would have been right in shooting Hardy on Sunday, when he allegedly pepper-sprayed officers and bit one. Police said Hardy had a loaded .45-caliber handgun, knives, a collapsible baton and throwing stars.

"If they had shot him, it would have been a justified shooting," Moore said. "And I think the fact that they exercised restraint and tried to apprehend him without using deadly force is commendable and reflects well on their training."

In other jurisdictions, Moore said, "he would have been shot."

So the police couldn't keep a prisoner handcuffed to a hospital bed from escaping, have been unable to locate him for four days, but should be commended for not shooting him in the first place? Uh, OK, thanks.