Officer trapped in getaway car, Milwaukee man sentenced

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man has been sentenced to prison for driving away from police during an attempted arrest with an officer trapped in the backseat.

Milwaukee man sentenced

In court:

Kewane Daniels, 27, was originally charged with four felonies. Court records show Daniel pleaded guilty to first and second-degree recklessly endangering safety and fleeing an officer. A false imprisonment charge was dismissed as part of a plea deal.

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Milwaukee County Judge Katie Kegel sentenced Daniels to seven-and-a-half years in prison and four years of extended supervision. Daniels was sentenced to time served in the Milwaukee County Community Reintegration Center for fleeing an officer.

Theft, hotel arrest attempt

The backstory:

According to a criminal complaint, in early January, Milwaukee police responded to the Comfort Suites near 118th and Silver Spring after a caller indicated that "property had been taken from her by the defendant." The caller said location data alerted her that the property was in the hotel parking lot. 

Daniels also had two warrants out for his arrest. The caller reached out to Daniels to come outside and meet her while law enforcement was ready to assist with arresting him and returning her property.

According to the complaint, Daniels approached his car, and an officer followed and positioned himself behind an open rear door. The officer "drew his service weapon knowing that Daniels was reported to frequently be armed." The officer ordered Daniels not to place the car in drive, but Daniels ignored the orders and "accelerated in reverse in an attempt to flee (the officer)."

Officer trapped in defendant's car

Dig deeper:

The officer, who was now being forced to back pedal, "realized he could not keep up with the quickly reversing vehicle, and feared he may be overtaken and crushed beneath the auto. (The officer) stated that he had to jump into the open rear passenger's seat in order to escape the possibility of being knocked down beneath the oncoming vehicle's door and tires," the complaint says.

The defendant quickly accelerated out of the hotel parking lot with the officer in the rear seat. The officer "continually ordered him to stop the car." According to the complaint, the officer said, "Daniels fled at a high rate of speed near 90 mph east on W. Silver Spring Drive while losing control and mounting the curb several times." During this entire incident, the officer said he "kept his service weapon aimed at Daniels while in the back seat. Due to the speeds and reckless driving, (the officer) could not exit the vehicle."

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The officer put his weapon away to try and convince Daniels that he was not in danger and to pull over the vehicle. Instead, the defendant continued fleeing and driving recklessly.

Daniels opened the driver's door and abandoned the car that was still going about 35 mph near 92nd and Birch. The car went up the curb, into a front yard and crashed into a tree with the officer still trapped in the backseat. Child locks were engaged, so the officer was unable to exit on his own.

Other officers were able to quickly find Daniels. The complaint said he was "missing footwear in extremely frigid temperatures." 

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