An alleged bank robber was wounded Friday after a Walworth County Sheriff’s deputy fired at the suspect who was reportedly driving toward the deputy during a high-speed chase with police.
According to a press release from the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office, on Friday, Aug. 24, at approximately 2:11p.m., Walworth County dispatchers received a call from the People’s Bank North which is located at the intersection of Hwy 12/67 and County Trunk A in the Town of Sugar Creek. The caller was a bank employee who advised that they had just been robbed by a male who was brandishing a handgun. The bank employee gave a complete description of the male involved, and his vehicle.
A few minutes later a Wisconsin State Trooper located the alleged vehicle involved and attempted to stop it. The suspect vehicle fled, reaching speeds of more than 80 miles per hour. As Walworth County deputies joined in the pursuit, the driver traveled into Waukesha County.
A Walworth County Deputy exited his squad, and deployed “stop sticks” which is a law enforcement tool whereby a suspect vehicle’s tires will lose air until they are completely flat when the suspect vehicle runs over them.
The driver allegedly drove around the Walworth County squad car and the stop sticks in the road in his lane of travel. The driver drove directly at the deputy who was then outside of his vehicle and kneeling to deploy the stop sticks.
The deputy fired his service weapon at the front of the suspect vehicle, wounding the suspect and ending the pursuit at 2:27pm.
Waukesha County Sheriff is handling the investigation of the Officer Involved Shooting and the Federal Bureau of Investigation is handling the bank robbery investigation.
No other information, including the suspect’s name, is being released at this time, according to the release. The investigation remains open and ongoing.
