Milwaukee police chase ends with crash into fire hydrant, arrest

FOX6 News Digital Team
·2 min read
10
<div>Richard Fischer</div>
Richard Fischer

MILWAUKEE - A 55-year-old Milwaukee man is accused of fleeing a Milwaukee County sheriff's deputy before crashing into a fire hydrant and being taken into custody. The accused is Richard Fischer – and he faces the following criminal counts:

  • Attempting to flee or elude an officer

  • Second-degree recklessly endangering safety

  • Obstructing an officer

  • Misdemeanor bail jumping

According to the criminal complaint, a Milwaukee County sheriff's deputy spotted a pickup truck stopped in traffic on S. 27th Street at W. Pierce Street early on Sunday, April 21. The deputy activated his squad's lights and siren. The driver of the truck, identified as the defendant, drove into the Mitchell Park Domes parking lot but failed to stop.

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The complaint says after "failing to stop for a few blocks while traveling at slow speeds with the squad pursuing it, the truck aggressively accelerated" at S. 23rd Street and W. Mineral Street. The complaint notes some of the defendant's reckless driving during this pursuit included the following:

  • Running five stop signs

  • Running five red lights

  • Nearly T-boning an occupied vehicle after running one of the red lights

  • Traveling 72 mph on S. Cesar Chavez Drive

  • Traveling 78 mph on S. Muskego Street, a 25 mph zone

  • Nearly losing control and striking a building and parked car on W. Mitchell Street

The police chase ended when the defendant lost control and crashed into a fire hydrant near Pierce and S. Layton Boulevard, the complaint says.

When the deputy approached the truck, he ordered the defendant at gunpoint to show his hands. The complaint says the defendant refused to do so and stated several times, "Leave me alone." That is when the defendant jumped out of the truck and fled on foot. The complaint says the deputy caught up to Fischer a short time later and deployed his taser in an attempt to get Fischer to the ground. Two attempts with the taser failed. The complaint says a short time later in a gas station parking lot, "two Milwaukee police officers arrived and assisted with taking the defendant into custody."

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According to the complaint, the deputy saw the defendant had "pinpoint pupils, excited energy, and was unable to stay still, which, based on his training and experience, he knows to be signs of drug use." The defendant stated he smoked crack cocaine a couple of hours before this incident.

Fischer made his initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Wednesday, April 24. Cash bond was set at $15,000.