CLEVELAND — The Brook Park Police Department has released body camera footage of the arrest of Isaac Woolley, the man accused of driving into a restricted area at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport on Thanksgiving Eve, resulting in a brief shutdown of airport operations.
The footage starts with police locating Woolley as he is walking on Aerospace Parkway. Woolley told officers that he was trying to get to his son and daughter down in Athens, Alabama. "I'll do whatever it takes to get down there to see my son and daughter," he told police.
Officers noticed that Woolley had blood on his hands. "I was being a little stupid and rowdy," the 26-year-old Woolley replied, adding that he was looking for attention.
Police then placed Woolley under arrest. When Woolley seemed unclear as to why he was being taken into custody, one of the officers exclaimed, "You stole a car! You stole a car and crashed it through the freaking airport gates, dude."
Woolley also told arresting officers that he had once been a sheriff's deputy.
You can see the entire body camera footage below:
According to the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio, Woolley faces the following federal charges:
- Entering aircraft or airport area in violation of security requirements
- Carjacking
- Destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities
The incident on Nov. 23 began just after 8:15 p.m. as Fairview Park police received reports that a vehicle had been stolen at the Orbit Hotel on Brookpark Road. The vehicle's owner had been looking for a lost pet when she got out and left it running, then Woolley allegedly jumped in the vehicle and drove away. The woman sustained minor injuries after she was knocked to the ground, according to police.
At approximately 9 p.m., Woolley drove through an airfield gate at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and made it onto a runway. He eventually abandoned his vehicle on the airfield after damaging runway lighting. Airport operations were shut down for approximately 30 minutes, including several flights bound for Cleveland temporarily diverted to nearby airports.
3News' Ryan Haidet contributed to this report