Sheriff Clarke initiates traffic stop; 30-year-old Milwaukee man arrested in domestic violence incident

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke on Thursday night, August 7th took part in a traffic stop during which the Sheriff's Office says a domestic violence incident was in progress.

It happened shortly before 7:00 p.m.

The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office says Sheriff Clarke saw a car attempting multiple times to cut off and run another car off the road near N. 51st Street and Good Hope Road.

Sheriff Clarke pursued the cars -- one of which did not have registration plates and was dodging in and out of traffic, according to the Sheriff's Office.

On N. 76th Street, just south of Good Hope Road, the Sheriff's Office says Sheriff Clarke pulled the unregistered vehicle over -- asking the driver why he was pursuing the other vehicle and trying to run it off the road.

The Sheriff's Office says a 30-year-old Milwaukee man told Sheriff Clarke his girlfriend was in the other vehicle -- saying if he would have known the sheriff was nearby, he wouldn't have done it.

The 30-year-old man told the Sheriff his license was suspended -- when Sheriff Clarke requested it. Sheriff Clarke called MPD for backup.

The Sheriff's Office says the man's girlfriend returned to the scene, and reported that the 30-year-old man, her ex-boyfriend, was threatening her and trying to run her off the road.

The Sheriff's Office says the 35-year-old woman said she feared for her life, and the lives of her 12-year-old and 15-year-old children -- who were with her in the car.

The Sheriff's Office says the woman reported her ex-boyfriend had been following her for 30 minutes -- coming close to hitting her and trying to cut her off -- when she dialed 911 for help.

Milwaukee police officers responded to the scene -- and arrested the 30-year-old man for disorderly conduct/domestic violence-related.

The man had an outstanding municipal warrant for operating after suspension, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The Sheriff's Office says the man was cited for operating after suspension, not registering his vehicle and unsafe lane deviation.

His criminal history includes several manufacturing/delivering cocaine convictions, resisting/obstructing an officer, disorderly conduct, and criminal damage to property/domestic-violence related.

The Sheriff's Office says Sheriff Clarke will request that the District Attorney’s Office charge the subject with Recklessly Endangering Safety, in addition to the Disorderly Conduct/Domestic Violence charge requested by MPD, because there were two children in the car.

The sheriff said, “Until we demonstrate how seriously we treat domestic violence, instead of paying lip service by only saying we take it seriously, these types of incidents will continue.”