Milwaukee police chase; squad crashes, catches fire

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee police squad responding to a pursuit was involved in a crash early Tuesday morning on the city's north side.

The chase began near 6th and Concordia around 2:30 a.m. Police said officers saw a reckless driver fleeing the area of a ShotSpotter call and tried to stop the vehicle – but the driver took off.

Shortly after the chase began, a responding squad collided with another vehicle near 8th and Center around 2:45 a.m. The squad then caught fire.

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"Obviously the officers were just trying to do their job," said Ben Rodriguez, who owns Kwik Towing.

While police have not said who was at fault in that crash, or whether reckless driving was a factor, Rodriguez said he sees crashes in the area weekly.

MPD squad crash, 8th and Center

"There’s actually cement barriers over there that we have on the corner to prevent some of that, from somebody running into the building or into the customer cars," he said. "Kind of the minimum that we can do as a society is have the police officers do their work, but they can’t fix everything."

The chase ended in Glendale – more than five miles from where it started – when the fleeing vehicle crashed into a light pole at Green Bay and Good Hope. 

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The driver, a 34-year-old Milwaukee man, was arrested and taken to a hospital for medical clearance. Criminal charges will be referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office in the upcoming days. 

In regard to the squad crash and fire, two officers were treated for injuries at the scene. The driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash, a 35-year-old Milwaukee woman, was taken to a hospital with non-fatal injuries.