High-speed chases on rise in county

Bieber wants more deputies so they can focus on traffic patrols, ticketing offenders
By: 
Lee Pulaski
City Editor

The Shawano County Sheriff’s Department is seeing an increase in high-speed chases, and it is asking for more punitive consequences in the hopes of getting people to slow down on the county’s roads.

“This is something that the district attorney is going to work on with higher punishment rates for folks that take off on law enforcement,” Sheriff Adam Bieber said June 2 at the county’s public safety committee meeting.

Bieber recounted one instance where a deputy was responding to a call for a domestic disturbance on Lake Drive in the Town of Wescott when the driver of the vehicle in front of him suddenly took off at high speed. That vehicle eventually crashed, he said.

“Our guy wasn’t chasing him; he just took off,” Bieber said. “We’ve had other high-speed chases, and it’s very concerning.”

There was another high-speed chase recently that came from Oconto County, the sheriff noted. The case was a peeping tom incident in Gillett and one where folks were concerned about a possible kidnapping, he said.

“That was a very long chase that ended over on (state Highway) 47, when we were able to spike his vehicle,” Bieber said.

Shawano County is seeing this problem because other counties have adopted a no-chase policy for its law enforcement, according to Bieber. Many times when someone drastically increases speed, other law enforcement agents will let the vehicle go.

“We’re seeing the problem here,” Bieber said. “Imagine the Gillett case. You had a guy who was possibly trying to kidnap kids. If you don’t stop that guy at that time, you could lose him, and he could have someone kidnapped or locked in the trunk area. You can lose valuable evidence if you just let someone go like that.”

The county does not always give chase, Bieber noted, with action determined on a case-by-case basis. Determining factors include the amount of traffic on the road and whether the incident is taking place at a school before or after it’s in session.

“We can call off a chase if we think it is too dangerous for the public,” Bieber said.

The sheriff’s department recently changed its policy about car vs. deer crashes, with deputies only responding if someone is injured or if the road is blocked. Bieber said that should help to free up deputies for other things like traffic patrols.

Reckless driving is the No. 2 complaint that deputies are called to, according to Bieber, with most of them speeding. The No. 1 call is crashes, he added.

“I get about a dozen calls for speeding and extra patrols,” he said. “In my opinion, that’s the No. 1 concern of our public is traffic safety.”

Bieber told the committee that he could hire three extra deputies, solely tasked with traffic control, and the tickets they’d write up could easily make up the salaries and benefits the county would have to provide. He said he could put them on U.S. Highway 45 and state highways 47 and 29, where the speeding incidents are the most frequent and egregious.

“This county definitely needs it,” Bieber said. “We have eight to nine state roads that run through Shawano County, and we’re unique because no other county has that many. We have a lot of traffic that criss-crosses through our county, and it’s a concern. It’s on county roads, as well.”

The sheriff said he’d be willing to work with the Shawano County Board of Supervisors on a proposal to get more deputies and have them focus on speeding and other traffic violations.


lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com