When Christopher Bradford was discharged from Centennial Hospital he didn't have a ride home.
So he took the closest vehicle, according to an arrest affidavit, filed Sept. 1, charging Bradford, 33, with theft.
"Mr. Bradford stated he got out of the hospital and was upset he did not have a ride home and decided to steal the ambulance," a Nashville officer wrote in the arrest affidavit. "Mr. Bradford told the officer that the ambulance was left unlocked, so he got into the driver's seat and began driving."
Nashville police first heard about the stolen amublance when someone from the company called to report that he was tracking the vehicle as it was driven towards 4th Avenue South.
"The medic drivers were still at (TriStar Centennial Medical Center)
attempting to make a report of the ambulance," the affidavit said.
Officers were able to follow the ambulance using the GPS locations and found it on Interstate 24. They continued to follow the vehicle until it exited on to Harding Place and pulled into a gas station and up to a pump.
Police blocked the ambulance in and swarmed the vehicle.
Bradford got out of the ambulance and police detained him.
The medics who were with the ambulance told officers they were only inside the hospital for 30 minutes, and they did not leave it unlocked like Bradford said.
Bradford has a history of police interactions, though few ended in conviction.
From 2022 through Sept. 1, he's been charged 30 times, mostly all misdemeanors for criminal trespassing, indecent exposure and public intoxication. All were dismissed except for one felony burglary charge, which he pleaded down to a misdemeanor theft charge, and a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a public passageway which is still an open case, records show.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville man accused of stealing ambulance when he didn't have ride home
