Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post

f6twister · 12-23-2004, 03:39 PM

I did search but didn't see it, so.....

Quote:

High-speed, 3-county chase ends in fatal crash

Posted: Dec. 22, 2004 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal

A high-speed chase that resulted in a Whitefish Bay man's death Wednesday is raising questions about police pursuits and whether the danger is worth the risk posed to the public and police officers.

It appears though, that the 24-year-old Random Lake woman who led police on the chase across three counties Wednesday would attempt to flee at any cost. Lara M. Strack was wanted in a string of check forgeries and told her mother that she would kill herself before she'd go to prison, her ex-husband says.

Authorities say Strack was being chased after trying to cash a stolen check at a Saukville bank on Wednesday. The chase reached speeds of more than 100 mph, and some of the officers involved from a number of jurisdictions in Milwaukee, Ozaukee and Washington counties said they knew nothing about her suspected crime, only that she was trying desperately to flee.

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. said it is legitimate to question high-speed chase policies and it is reasonable for the public to expect answers about what happened and why, especially given the death of an innocent bystander.

Police say Benjamin Fagan, 80, of Whitefish Bay was killed when the 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe driven by Strack slammed into the car he was driving in the intersection of Port Washington Road and Hampton Ave.

When asked if a chase should have ensued over a stolen check, Clarke said: "It's a legitimate question. These things are highly dangerous. In hindsight I would say, no."

Warrants had also been recently issued for Strack's arrest in Washington and Sheboygan counties on allegations related to a series of other check forgeries.

Clarke said the exact locations of squad cars from a number of jurisdictions at the time of the crash remain under investigation.

The entire matter will be reviewed by the district attorney's office, Clarke said.

Regis Welsh, who lived next door to Fagan, said Fagan was "friendly and outgoing."

Welsh said Fagan and his wife, Bernice, had been married for about 55 years and that the couple "did everything together. She was his world."

Ben and Bernice Fagan celebrated Hanukkah last week, Welsh said.

"God gave him one more holiday," Welsh said.

Check leads to police call
Wednesday's chase began about 9:55 a.m. at Grafton State Bank in Saukville, when a woman drove up to the bank's drive-through lanes and tried to cash a $350 check from a church, said Patricia Liedtke, a bank vice president.

Because the woman was not a Grafton State Bank customer, the teller asked to see her identification, which she gave the teller, Liedtke said.

"We also called the bank on which the check was drawn to see if it was good," Liedtke said. "When we called that bank, they identified the check and said that we should phone the police."

Bank staff tried to keep the woman at the bank, but she left. Bank workers provided police with the license plate number of the vehicle.

About that time, a Saukville police officer arrived at the bank, spotted the vehicle and began following it. A chase ensued, reaching speeds of more than 100 mph, into Washington County, said Saukville Police Chief William D. Meloy. "At that point," Meloy said, "I told him to break off the chase."

Meloy said the officer had already begun to slow down.

"We hoped that if we backed off a bit, she might slow down. We definitely didn't want her to increase her speed," Meloy said.

A short time later, an Ozaukee County sheriff's deputy spotted the vehicle but lost it again when it turned south into Cedarburg.

At 10:12 a.m., Cedarburg police spotted the vehicle, but lost sight of it in congested downtown Cedarburg traffic, said Cedarburg Police Chief Tom Frank.

A Cedarburg police officer spotted the vehicle again a short time later.

When a Cedarburg police officer attempted to stop the vehicle, Strack sped south into Mequon. Police pursued her, reaching speeds of 60 to 65 mph, Frank said.

Mequon police attempted to slow down the SUV by placing a tack strip across the road. But the driver avoided the device and continued with a Cedarburg police squad in pursuit.

Speeds reached more than 90 mph through the relatively rural area, Frank said.

"It was the officer's opinion that because traffic was light and there were few crossroads that he would continue the chase," Frank said.

Frank said officers involved in high speed chases "have to continually evaluate road conditions, traffic, how the person is operating her vehicle, if he feels the pursuit has become too dangerous and what the person is being pursued for."

Frank and Mequon Police Sgt. Dan Buntrock said their officers did not know during their part of the pursuit why the woman was wanted.

Pursuing officers then lost the vehicle. "The suspect drove in such a manner that the officer couldn't maintain contact," Frank said. "He was quite a ways behind her at that point."

Mequon police spotted the vehicle in an industrial area on the city's east side but gave up the pursuit when it turned onto I-43 and headed south to Milwaukee County.

The vehicle exited the freeway at Silver Spring Road in Glendale and then turned south on Port Washington Road.

Ozaukee County sheriff's Lt. David Guss said a sheriff's deputy spotted the vehicle shortly before it entered I-43 and the deputy followed Strack into Milwaukee County while maintaining a distance of two-tenths of a mile.

Near Good Hope Road, Glendale police took up the lead position in the pursuit, with the Ozaukee sheriff's squad following some distance behind, Guss said.

Clarke said the woman was traveling at speeds in excess of 100 mph on the freeway and around traffic.

"This thing was happening rapidly," Clarke said. Officers involved in chases face a "tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving situation on whether the pursuit should continue or stop."

"We (law enforcement) didn't start the pursuit. She did," Clarke added.

Strack was transported by Flight for Life to Froedtert Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department said. She was treated at the emergency room but was never admitted to the hospital and is in custody, the department said.

Other charges
Strack has been charged in Sheboygan County with two felony counts of forgery and one of false representation. A warrant was issued for her arrest earlier this month after she failed to appear in court in connection with those charges.

Strack is charged with withdrawing $6,875 from a savings account of a Random Lake church between Sept. 30 and Oct. 15 using letters she signed with the name of her mother, who is the church's treasurer.

She faces another forgery charge in Washington County. A criminal complaint alleges that Strack earlier this month cashed a check at a West Bend bank on her father's account for $1,750 made out to her ex-husband and on which she had forged her father's name.

Strack's former father-in-law, Kenneth Strack Sr. of Random Lake, said he recognized his daughter-in-law's vehicle when he saw the chase on television.

"I knew it was her by the car and the description - 24 years old, from Random Lake," Strack said.

Kenneth Strack Jr. said he could only guess why his ex-wife led police on a high-speed chase. "All I know is that she told her mother she'd kill herself before she'd ever go to prison," Strack Jr. said.

Strack said he met Lara when the two attended Random Lake High School. The couple divorced in June after 1 1/2 years of marriage.

How do you feel about police pursuits? I put the entire blame for this death on her hands. The law says when a cop drives behind you with his lights and siren going, you stop. The law also says obey the speed limit, stop at red lights and don't cash checks not issued to you.