MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. — Editor's note: In the first version of this story, 13 ON YOUR SIDE reported that a K9 was inside the patrol vehicle during the arrest. Michigan State Police said this is false.
Footage from a state trooper's body camera and cruiser are revealing more details surrounding an incident where a woman bit the trooper, slipped her handcuffs and stole the patrol vehicle.
Cortney Morey, of Ravenna, has been charged with assaulting a police officer, unlawful driving away, fleeing a police officer and malicious destruction of police property in connection to the incident. All the charges are felonies.
Michigan State Police said it all started when they were responding to a domestic call around 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 3.
13 ON YOUR SIDE obtained footage from both the body-worn camera and the dash camera on the trooper's vehicle. Some information was redacted, and the police did not provide all the footage from the incident.
Body camera footage shows Morey sitting on the ground while talking with the trooper. The conversation escalates as it goes on and the trooper attempts to take her into custody.
When the trooper tells Morey that she can't bring her purse to the jail and would have to leave it behind, Morey begins to struggle and yell at the trooper.
The trooper then tells Morey to get on the ground and show her hands so she can be handcuffed. Morey continues to struggle, at one point threatening to sue the trooper.
The trooper then yells and says, "Get off! Don't bite!" after Morey bites her.
Other troopers arrived at the scene and handcuffed Morey. She was placed into a patrol vehicle, where she then slipped out of her handcuffs and into the driver's seat.
In-camera video shows Morey evading other police and speeding as she led troopers on a chase. At one point, you can hear the tires squealing as she attempts to negotiate a sharp curve, and she rolls the windows down as she speeds down back roads.
Police say she eventually crashed into a swamp in Bridgeton Township. The vehicle had to be hauled out of the water.
Morey was given a $20,000 cash-assured bond and cannot leave the state without permission.
A trial date has not yet been announced.
The Muskegon County Prosecutor's Office says the charges against Morey reflect the seriousness of her offense.
"Obviously, our concern is for officer safety first, but she kind of upped the ante by leading the police on a high-speed chase, and that endangers everyone," Timothy Maat, Chief Assistant at the prosecutor's office, said. "So these charges are designed to reflect the seriousness of what she did and how she endangered the lives of these officers as well as the lives of ordinary citizens."
