A former Arkansas police chief serving time for first-degree murder and rape is on the run after escaping a prison facility over the weekend of May 23. State Department of Corrections officials said Grant Hardin, 56, escaped from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock on Sunday, May 25, wearing a “makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement.”
Hardin previously served as police chief in Gateway, Arkansas, and had been incarcerated since 2017. He was serving a 30-year sentence for murder and a further 50 years for rape, stemming from two separate convictions.
A spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Corrections told USA Today that rainy conditions have “hampered search efforts” but they expect conditions to clear up, which should aid in their search for Hardin.
How did Hardin escape?
Authorities say Hardin was missing for roughly 20 minutes before an officer realized he was missing. He reportedly exited the facility through a secure access point while pushing a cart and wearing a fake law enforcement uniform. Authorities have not yet disclosed how he evaded detection at the time of escape.
The prison, located about 130 miles north of Little Rock, near the Missouri border, has deployed K-9 units, state police and local law enforcement in an effort to locate Hardin. Officials have warned the public that he should be considered “extremely dangerous.”
Details on his convictions
Hardin was convicted and sentenced in 2017 for shooting and killing James Appleton in his truck in Benton County. Appleton was the brother-in-law of the mayor of Gateway, where Hardin was serving as police chief at the time.
Two years later, in 2019, Hardin was sentenced for the rape of a schoolteacher in Rogers, Arkansas. The woman reported that she was assaulted in a school restroom by a man wearing a disguise and carrying a pistol. DNA evidence ultimately linked Hardin to the crime.
What is his law enforcement history?
Hardin had a long but troubled career in Arkansas law enforcement. He was fired as the chief of police in Fayetteville because his work fell “short of the average probationary officer,” and he had a “tendency to not accept constructive criticism along with indecisiveness under stressful situations,” according to KHBS/KHOG-TV.
Hardin also served at the Eureka Springs Police Department, where records indicate a history of using excessive force and making “poor decisions” on the job.
Hardin had only been chief in Gateway for four months when he was charged with Appleton’s murder.
Not the only jailbreak
Hardin’s escape comes just weeks after ten inmates broke out of the Orleans Parish Justice Center in New Orleans, a case that included multiple violent offenders. While eight of those inmates have been captured, two remain at large. One was convicted of second-degree murder, while the other faced charges of domestic abuse and vehicle theft.
Police say at least seven people have been arrested for aiding in that escape, which remains under investigation.
