The former Arkansas police chief who escaped prison on Sunday may have an “edge” compared to other escapees due to his past in law enforcement, experts say.

Former Gateway Police Department Chief Grant Hardin, 56, escaped from the North Central Unit, a medium-security prison, Sunday afternoon in Calico Rock, according to the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC). Nicknamed the “Devil in the Ozarks,” Hardin was serving decades in prison for murder and rape.

Eric Brown, a 24-year U.S. Army Special Forces veteran and CEO of Imperio Consulting, told Fox News Digital that a former police chief like Hardin “has a working knowledge of law enforcement procedures, patrol routines and how search operations are typically structured.”

“That gives him an initial edge. He knows how law enforcement thinks,” Brown told Fox News Digital.

He pleaded guilty to the 2017 murder of James Appleton, 59, a city water employee who was found shot in the face inside his work truck, KNWA reported. While Hardin was being booked into the state prison around that time, officials submitted his DNA sample into a database. His DNA linked him to the rape cold case of a teacher in 1997, the outlet reported. 

Hardin ended up pleading guilty in that case in 2019, according to KNWA.

The former police chief’s escape came two days after 10 prisoners escaped a correctional facility in New Orleans, eight of whom have since been recaptured while two remain at large.

Hardin is described as a 6-foot White male, weighing approximately 259 pounds. The FBI is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to his recapture and is asking tipsters to call 1-800-CALL-FBI with any information concerning the escapee.

Fox News’ Stepheny Price and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.