Brookfield officer dragged, assaulted during traffic stop; 2 charged
BROOKFIELD, Wis. - A Milwaukee man is accused of dragging and punching a Brookfield police officer during a traffic stop on Tuesday, May 28.
Prosecutors charged 33-year-old Bruce Hendon with six felonies, including first-degree recklessly endangering safety, and three misdemeanors in the case. Sirena Hicks, 35, is also charged in the case with harboring/aiding a felon and possession of a firearm by a felon.
According to a criminal complaint, the officer pulled over a black Infiniti at Brookfield Square Mall around 6:45 p.m. The car's license plates were not registered to any vehicle, and police said it had excessive window tint.
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The driver, Hendon, gave police a fake name and age, per the complaint. The officer noted Hendon seemed "extremely nervous" and was on a FaceTime call with a woman later identified as Hicks. Two people approached the black Infiniti and said Hendon was their ride, but the officer told them to leave.
Police ordered Hendon out of the car, the complaint states, but he instead "immediately" reached toward the gear shifter. The officer believed Hendon was trying to flee, so he reached into the car in an attempt to pull Hendon out.
Prosecutors said Hendon put the car into drive and sped off, dragging the officer. The officer was able to "deliver strong hand strikes" to Hendon while giving additional commands to stop, the complaint said. The car soon crashed into two other vehicles, and the officer's body and head slammed into the windshield.
The officer and Hendon got out of the car, and the complaint states Hendon punched the officer in the head and ran. The officer got dizzy and returned to his squad car, where another officer informed him that a different vehicle that was traveling with Hendon had started to circle the parking lot during the traffic stop.
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Brookfield and New Berlin police set up a perimeter and began searching for Hendon. He was soon found lying in a "large patch of unkept foliage" near Westmoor Country Club, according to the complaint. When officers told Hendon to not move and to show his hands, police said he instead tried to scale a fence. He was tased and then taken into custody.
Police checked with the people who were in one of the vehicles that Hendon crashed into. One victim was bleeding, and the other complained of neck pain, per the complaint. They said after Hendon ran off, they saw three people walk up and grab things from the black Infiniti. Investigators used surveillance video to identify Hicks as taking a black bag from the car's glove box.
Hicks told police, according to the complaint, that she only went through the car to get the keys and arrange for it to be removed from the scene. Officers searched her SUV and found IDs for both Hendon and Hicks, as well as a handgun inside the black bag she was seen taking from the Infiniti.
In all, Hendon is charged with:
- First-degree recklessly endangering safety
- Vehicle operator fleeing/eluding police (two counts)
- Battery to a law enforcement officer
- Hit-and-run resulting in injury
- Possession of a firearm by a felon
- Obstructing an officer
- Resisting an officer
- Possession of THC
Both Hendon and Hicks made their initial court appearances on Thursday; cash bond was set at $300,000 and $50,000, respectively.