The Brief
- A Milwaukee man is accused of leading police on a chase with a stolen vehicle – and there were young kids in the back seat.
- The accused is Branden Bentley.
- Bentley faces multiple criminal counts, including second-degree recklessly endangering safety.
MILWAUKEE – A 29-year-old Milwaukee man is accused of leading police on a miles-long chase with two children in a stolen vehicle. The accused is Branden Bentley – and he faces the following criminal counts:
- Operating a motor vehicle to flee or in an attempt to elude an officer
- Second-degree recklessly endangering safety (three counts)
- Obstructing an officer
- Bail jumping (felony)
According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police spotted on Wednesday, Aug. 27, a stolen car driving through a red light near 27th and Concordia on the city’s north side. Officers activated emergency lights and sirens to conduct a traffic stop near 26th and Townsend. But the driver of the vehicle sped away — and a police chase was underway.
The complaint says police pursued the vehicle for 4.66 miles and that the police chase reached speeds near 80 miles per hour. During the pursuit, the driver “disregarded multiple stop signs, drove on sidewalks, gangways, and in the wrong way of traffic,” the complaint says. The chase ended near 45th and Marion when the driver, later identified as the defendant, fled on foot. An officer was able to catch the defendant “who actively resisted arrest and had to be tazed,” the complaint says.
When officers returned to the stolen vehicle, they found a 28-year-old woman in the front passenger seat and two children in the rear passenger seats. The woman told police “the defendant told her to ‘shut up’ once the pursuit began,” the complaint says. The younger of the two children had been crying during the pursuit.…