KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. — A South Milwaukee man was arrested Monday after leading law enforcement from several jurisdictions on a chase, resulting in a freeway closure.
According to the Milwaukee Police Department, officers were involved in a chase that occurred around 5 p.m. on the 3400 block of W. Park Hill Ave.
Officers saw the driver drug dealing at a Milwaukee gas station and attempted to make a stop. The man fled and that's when a pursuit began.
The Racine County Sheriff's Office was requested to assist in the pursuit. A deputy successfully deployed stock sticks to deflate the driver's tires. However, the man continued to flee, but his speed decreased.
When the pursuit entered Kenosha County, the Pleasant Prairie Police Department took over. Racine deputies, Milwaukee police officers, and the Wisconsin State Patrol continued in the pursuit as secondary units.
Pleasant Prairie police used multiple units to box in the suspect vehicle and force the driver to stop. The pursuit ended on the 8100 block of 120th Ave. in Kenosha. Police activity resulted in all southbound lanes on Interstate 41 near Highway 50 temporarily closing.
The driver and only person in the vehicle, a 46-year-old South Milwaukee man, was arrested.
Suspected illegal narcotics were also recovered, including crack cocaine, according to the Racine County Sheriff's Office. Officers suspect the man destroyed additional drugs because multiple baggies appeared to have been bitten off.
The man also gave officers a fake name, but he was identified through a previous booking photograph and multiple tattoos.
It's been 24 hours since the chase and questions still remain: Should Milwaukee police have started the pursuit in the first place and should other agencies have continued it?
"I would make a call that that pursuit didn't need to happen," Mark Priano said.
Priano's with the Pursuit Safety Organization, a non-profit that works to prevent innocent bystanders from being injured or killed as a result of police chases.
"Every single person in public that was on that highway, on all those roads, all of those people were in danger yesterday," Priano added.
A U.S. Department of Justice report from September references Milwaukee police's pursuit policy multiple times, stating the department's relaxed rules on chasing put too many lives at risk.
The report also recommends departments nationwide to pursue for only two reasons. First, if the suspect committed a violent crime, and second, if they pose an imminent threat to the public.
"I didn't see the imminent danger. I saw imminent danger by the pursuit. The pursuit had imminent danger including the officers," Priano explained.
MPD's policy states they can chase violent criminals, those who pose a threat to the public, and those who are involved in drug trafficking investigations. We asked MPD why they pursued Monday night's suspect.
In a statement sent to TMJ4, an MPD spokesperson said:
"The safety of all community members and our officers is paramount to the Milwaukee Police Department. The dangers of pursuing a vehicle are considered during each pursuit. The Milwaukee Police Department is committed to working with our community to build sustainable healthy neighborhoods, free of crime."
We also reached out to the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission for comment on this chase and to see if policy would be changing, but we haven't heard back.
Criminal charges will be referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office. The Racine County Sheriff's Office said they and the Pleasant Prairie Police Department will also forward charges to their respective district attorney's offices for offenses that occurred in their jurisdictions.
TMJ4 is not naming the man because he is yet to be formally charged.
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