Milwaukee police chase ends in crash; meth recovered, man charged

MILWAUKEE - A 36-year-old Milwaukee man has been criminally charged in connection to a police pursuit that ended in a crash on Tuesday, Feb. 18. The accused is 26-year-old Bobby Breutzmann. 

Police chase

The backstory:

According to the criminal complaint, it started around 5:15 p.m. that day near 75th and Lincoln. Court filings say an officer observed a silver Chevrolet Trax traveling eastbound on W. Lincoln Avenue with no registration plates displayed.

The officer initiated a traffic stop and the Chevrolet Trax pulled into a parking lot. The officer approached the vehicle and saw it was occupied by two men. The driver, later identified as Bobby Breutzmann, told police he had no identification on him. He verbally identified himself to officers. However, the DOT file came back with no response, the complaint states. 

Around this time, a second officer arrived at the scene. That's when Breutzmann put the Trax into reverse and accelerated backward at a high rate of speed. He nearly struck one of the squads and continued backward toward the exit of the lot, per the complaint. 

He continued driving backwards, striking the West Allis squad on the front right passenger side of the vehicle, causing damage. Breutzmann was able to narrowly exit onto 69th Street and drove south at a high rate of speed, court filings say. 

Due to the crash with the squad car, the left rear corner of the Chevy Trax sustained severe damage, causing a plume of heavy white smoke to billow from the exhaust pipe. 

An officer exited the lot and began pursuing the Trax with his emergency lights and sirens activated; however, the vehicle did not stop. The smoke coming from the Chevy was so thick it made it extremely hard for officers to even see the vehicle, the complaint states. 

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Court filings say at Oklahoma Avenue, Breutzmann drove through the red light at speeds in excess of 65 mph. At Howard Avenue, he drove through another red light at speeds in excess of 60 mph and continued south. 

As the pursuit continued southbound, the complaint says Breutzmann came up to a little heavier traffic and began passing vehicles on the right in the bike lane. The Trax’s speeds were in excess of 50 mph while passing. At Coldspring Road, the traffic control signal was red. Breutzmann drove through that red light, nearly striking several vehicles, per the complaint. 

PIT maneuver & crash

What we know:

At I-894 eastbound and S. 60th Street, Breutzmann turned east to get onto the freeway. While doing so, the officer conducted a PIT maneuver. 

Upon the vehicle being PIT it slid down the embankment towards I-894 at a high rate of speed. At the bottom of the embankment, the vehicle struck a cement barrier. The force of the crash with the barrier caused the vehicle to roll over.

After the crash, police say Breutzmann continued to press the gas on the vehicle, which caused the engine to rev and smoke to continue to billow.

In custody

What we know:

Per the complaint, the passenger came out of the vehicle through a window with assistance. 

However, Breutzmann began fighting officers attempts to extract him from the car, court filings say. He began kicking his feet and every time officers tried to pull him out the back rear window, he would take a hand and hold on to a car seat, according to the complaint. 

This lasted for several minutes with officers using pepper spray in order to safely remove him from the vehicle. After several minutes of fighting with Breutzmann, he was removed and placed in custody. 

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During a search of the vehicle, officers located a black satchel in the back seating area of the car. Inside, officers found individual baggies of a crystalized substance. The substances tested positive for methamphetamine. 

Breutzmann was transported to the hospital for medical clearance and continued to refuse to identify himself, the complaint states. Eventually, officers were able to use a fingerprint scanner to identify Breutzmann.

The total pursuit distance was 3.29 miles.

Bobby Breutzmann is charged with the following: 

• Vehicle operator flee/elude officer causing damage to property
• Two counts of second degree recklessly endangering safety
• Possession of methamphetamine
• Two counts of bail jumping
• Obstructing an officer