2 in custody after officer-involved shooting in Grand Chute, high-speed chase on I-41
GRAND CHUTE -- Appleton police say two men were taken into custody following an incident in Grand Chute Saturday, July 23rd that involved the theft of a squad car, an officer-involved shooting, and a subsequent high-speed chase on I-41.
Police say this all began around 6:30 p.m., when a Grand Chute police officer checked the parking lot of the Pawn America store located on Westhill Boulevard near Woodman Drive for suspects possibly involved in retail theft.
The officer located and spoke with two people, and called a supervisor for assistance.
The supervisor arrived at the parking lot with a "live scanner," used to help identify people through their fingerprints -- when the incident quickly escalated to a physical confrontation involving one of the possible suspects and the two Grand Chute officers.
During the physical confrontation, one of the suspects was able to get into a Grand Chute police squad car.
Officers attempted to remove him from the squad, but they were not successful.
The suspect then backed the squad into the other parked squad.
During this incident, one of the Grand Chute officers suffered a non-life threatening injury.
Additional Grand Chute officers responded, and multiple shots were fired by officers at the squad containing the suspect. The suspect was struck by the gunfire -- but he was able to drive away.
Police say Grand Chute PD K-9 "Fram" was in the vehicle with the suspect.
Police say at 6:53 p.m., a carjacking occurred -- and the suspect ditched the stolen squad car, taking a vehicle from a woman who wasn't hurt during the carjacking.
The Grand Chute squad was recovered, and K-9 "Fram" was found to be uninjured.
In control of the newly stolen vehicle, the suspect made his way to I-41.
At 7:12 p.m., officials with the Brown County Sheriff's Department tried to stop the stolen vehicle.
By 7:21 p.m., the vehicle was stopped near Freedom Road and I-41.
The suspect, a 36-year-old man, was taken into custody -- and transported to the hospital for medical treatment.
Police say during the initial confrontation at Pawn America, the second suspect being spoken with by Grand Chute police was able to get away. Police say he called a cab and was picked up -- and he was attempting to return to the Manitowoc area.
Officers called the cab company and the cab was pulled over by the Calumet County Sheriff's Department, and the 25-year-old suspect was taken into custody and brought to the Appleton Police Department.
At the request of the Grand Chute Police Department, the Appleton Police Department is overseeing the shooting investigation at Pawn America and the carjacking, which occurred in Appleton.
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