New Berlin pursuit, crash leads to arrest of man in pond
NEW BERLIN, Wis. - A 45-year-old Milwaukee County man was arrested after a pursuit that caused damage to multiple lawns and a squad car.
New Berlin police said on Tuesday night, July 7, officers attempted to conduct an OWI investigation in the area of Beloit Road and Calhoun Road involving a driver with multiple warrants for his arrest (one for felony possession of a firearm and another for misdemeanor battery related to a domestic violence investigation).
"They followed the vehicle and observed it deviate from its lane and cross over the center line," said Captain Tony Pine, New Berlin Police Department.
A Facebook post by the New Berlin Police Department said the driver decided to flee officers rather than submit to field sobriety testing, driving through multiple lawns in order to evade police. At one point, police said he purposely rammed a squad twice to get away, causing substantial damage to the front end of the squad.
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The man eventually crashed in Park Arthur (Muskego) and was taken into custody after ending up waist-deep in a pond. No officers were injured during this pursuit.
Police said the vehicle was not registered to the driver.
"When they went back to get him out of the car, he wouldn’t get out and then took off from the officers," said Pine.
In Muskego, police said the driver turned off his headlights and circled Park Arthur.
"Muskego was able to catch him in the park, however, he drove into a pond," said Pine.
According to police, the man said he was fearful officers would place their knee on his back, but eventually, police were able to calmly coax him out of the water and bring the dangerous pursuit to an end.
"Don’t create more risk to the public by fleeing from the police," said Pine.
New Berlin police recommending charges of first offense OWI, reckless driving and battery to an officer.
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