Late on the evening of Wednesday, February 5, a Brookfield police officer was struck by a vehicle while investigating a crash. The officer was immediately taken to the hospital, where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries. The incident took place at the northbound section of Moorland Road around 11:30 p.m.
The officer was struck while helping assist and investigate a separate vehicle crash that had taken place on the northbound stretch of Moorland Road, slightly off of I-94. As the officer was looking over that first crash, a second vehicle merged from heading west on I-94 to heading north on Moorland. During the merge, the vehicle struck the officer. Shortly after the incident, the officer was taken to the hospital for treatment, which were not fatal. He remains unidentified, but Brookfield police did state that he had been a member of the department for two years.
The driver of the vehicle who struck the officer has only been identified as a twenty year old man from Brookfield. Initial reports claim that he initially fled the scene of the incident on foot. However, he was eventually taken into custody.
The police have not yet identified the suspect, but he is reportedly being detained at the Waukesha County Jail. Felony charges will be handled by the Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office, which is allegedly pursuing citations for “Operating while suspended, causing great bodily harm and duty upon striking a person. The driver is also being held on unrelated warrants”.
According to the Brookfield Police Department, the investigation of the striking incident will be helmed by the Wisconsin State Patrol. The State Patrol typically handles cases involving traffic incidents or officer related incidents and injuries.
Wednesday evening saw freezing rain and inadvisable driving conditions for several area counties including Waukesha, Milwaukee, and Washington. The poor driving conditions made roads slick and increased the likelihood of vehicular incidents.
Although the incident involving the officer was not directly due to weather conditions, drivers are still encouraged to use caution. Move over laws in Wisconsin require vehicles to either slow down or move a lane over from where an incident or police vehicle is stopped. Additionally, slowing down is especially encouraged in tumultuous, icy conditions.
