Two inmates tried to flee. This judge whipped off his robe and ran after them

A judge removed his robe and gave chase after two handcuffed inmates made a run for it from his courtroom in Chehalis last week.

Video obtained by The Daily Chronicle shows Judge R.W. Buzzard leap into action Oct. 16 when 22-year-old Tanner Jacobson and 28-year-old Kodey Howard bolted for the door and down a stairwell.

Jacobson was in the lead bounding down the four flights of stairs, but the judge closed in on Howard. The judge grabbed him just as he was about to exit the courthouse. Authorities apprehended Jacobson a few blocks away.

Both are charged with second-degree escape.

Sheriff Rob Snaza says “these things don’t happen very often.”

This story was originally published October 24, 2018 at 2:33 PM with the headline "Two inmates tried to flee. This judge whipped off his robe and ran after them."