Eau Claire (WQOW) - Eau Claire Police are piecing
together a serious investigation that started out as a regular traffic stop. It
turned into a chase with shots fired.
WQOW News 18 spoke with the Eau Claire
Police Department Wednesday, about what happened Tuesday night. It was a scary chain of events for officers, thankfully,
no one was seriously hurt.
Kyle Roder, the
Community Relations Officer for the Eau Claire Police Department, says, "Somebody
who does have repeat offenses in something, it does get frustrating for law
enforcement."
Scott Belisle, from Two Harbors, Minnesota
was arrested Tuesday night for his 11th OWI. It all started after an Eau Claire police officer
pulled him over for a broken headlight.
"Another officer
arrived to assist him, ultimately as part of the initial investigation into the
stop officers attempted to arrest the driver of the vehicle," says Roder.
Police say Belisle became combative
during the effort to arrest him. "The driver put the
vehicle into drive and accelerated rapidly which caused both officers to be
caught up in the vehicle and dragged."
After one officer was able to free
himself, "One of our officers did discharge his
firearm in attempt to stop the individual from causing harm to himself and the
other officer as well as the public," explains Roder. "Police face
serious situations that are rapidly moving and dynamic. And officers have to act
appropriately is split seconds to make sure that they protect the community and
they protect themselves."
After both officers were free, the
man led them on a chase that ended on South
Prairie View Road in Lake Hallie.
"When
we have an individual who is willing to be combative with law enforcement officers, who have weapons
and who have the training, I think that puts our public in danger as well
because that person, willing to fight with an officer, is also willing to do
other things and other acts of violence."
Law enforcement says Belisle fled on
foot and was found in a wooded area. He is currently in the Chippewa County
Jail on a $5,000 dollar bond.
The Wisconsin
Department of Justice is investigating because shots were fired by an
officer. Police weren't sure when that
investigation would be finished.
State lawmakers have introduced a
half-dozen bills aimed at strengthening OWI laws. Among the proposals, making all first
offenses, with a blood alcohol content of .15 or above a crime. As well as adding
a minimum sentence for convicted drunk drivers who injure or kill someone. Local lawmaker Tom Larson is a co-sponsor on
those bills. Wednesday he talked about the
chase.
He said, "Eleven of
them.....that's crazy. Once or twice,
maybe but even that's not okay. We have
to get to a point where if you are just ignoring the law, we have to do
something about it."
Those bills
have been introduced, and assigned to a committee.
