Multiple law enforcement agencies in Kenosha County were involved in a chase Tuesday evening.
According to the Pleasant Prairie Police Department, the chase involved a stolen work truck and ended on I-94 southbound just north of the state line.
"He’s going to be in jail for quite a long time,” Captain Paul Marik said.
Marik said the driver is facing multiple felonies in multiple jurisdictions. He said the truck was stolen out of Illinois and linked to a felony theft of a trailer at a hospital in Pleasant Prairie.
“We had been looking for this vehicle and the suspect for a little while,” Marik said.
According to investigators, the incident began when Kenosha Police were alerted to a stolen vehicle, flagged by one of the Flock cameras strategically positioned throughout the county.
Watch how teamwork and cameras helped catch a driver in stolen car:
Officers attempted to approach the truck at a Kwik Trip located at 39th Avenue and Washington Road. Police said the driver fled westbound on Washington Road.
“They had a high-speed chase through the city like 98 miles an hour," Marik explained. "He gets on the interstate. Sheriff’s Department picks it up. It was our case originally so we’re listening, so we get on the interstate. We end up taking the lead on it."
To stop the fleeing vehicle, law enforcement deployed spike strips, causing tire debris to fly into the air.
"They tried to box him in, but he began ramming squad cars. Ultimately, they pushed him into the wall, ending the chase before somebody got killed," Marik added.
The captain attributed the successful arrest to the coordinated teamwork among multiple departments and the invaluable assistance of the Flock camera system.
“We can’t be everywhere at once and so these cameras are identifying wanted people. They’re identifying stolen vehicles and things like that. And so, we once we get that trigger in that area, we can saturate that area and try to find the bad guys,” Marik said.
Groups like the ACLU call the camera system “dangerously powerful” because of the broad network it has.
Marik, however, is advocating for the expansion of the network in Pleasant Prairie.
“We would like them at every intersection. We can’t really afford that," he said. "But every year, I think we’re going to try and get more. But we have them at most of our big hot spots. We try to put them strategically where we would get the most success out of them."
The Kenosha County District Attorney said the man involved in the chase will be charged in court at 1 p.m. Thursday.
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