Capt. Ron Oremus said it's essentially a miracle no one was seriously injured or even died after a man, high on LSD, led police on a high-speed chase across the city.
"It's pretty amazing," Oremus said.
Oremus uses these words to characterize the events last week given the fact that Leif Erickson plowed through a fence, slammed into two Waukesha police cars, drove erratically and at high speeds through Waukesha streets and later crashed his truck.
Erickson, 21, who was nude at the time, has been charged with three counts of being a repeat offender of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, attempting to flee or elude a traffic officer, hit and run (causing injury), obstructing an officer, and disorderly conduct/domestic abuse for his actions on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
He is being held at the Waukesha County Jail on a $20,000 cash bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 21.
Erickson had been on probation for firebombing a woman's car with a Molotov cocktail outside his home in Waukesha two years ago. He pleaded guilty to negligent handling of a burning material, criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct in early 2014.
Close call
According to the most recent incident, a Waukesha officer was parked in the parking lot of Haertel Field, 440 W. Newhall Ave., speaking to another officer in an adjacent squad car when they heard a loud tire squeal.
After Erickson's Ford Ranger truck broke through a fence surrounding the parking lot, both squad cars were struck. Shortly after Erickson's truck drove by, Carroll University employees could be seen on a six-wheel ATV riding by where Erickson had just come from.
"Had that ATV gone by five seconds earlier we'd be talking about a double fatal," Oremus later said. "(They're) incredibly lucky to escape with their lives."
After Erickson ignored commands to pull over, he rapidly accelerated over the fence and out of the parking lot on West Newhall Avenue.
High-speed chase
A high-speed chase, which police captured on video, ensued. Erickson reached a speed of approximately 70 mph as he drove over the curb and onto Progress Avenue, ignoring stop signs along the way as he reached Sentry Drive.
Erickson then turned west onto Sunset Drive before striking the curb multiple times, almost losing control of his vehicle. Also during the chase, Erickson's vehicle spun 180 degrees after he slammed on the brakes.
Erickson then accelerated toward the officer's squad when the officer tried to get Erickson to exit the vehicle.
"There was definitely an intent to cause harm to officers," Oremus said.
After spinning around, Erickson then drove east on Sunset Drive, driving over the median, turned sharply onto Sentry again and then onto Progress Avenue, now reaching speeds up to 90 mph.
It was at this time Erickson turned into a parking lot near the bend on Progress Avenue and lost control of his vehicle, which flipped and became airborne.
Erickson began walking away from the vehicle after he was ejected during the crash. He suffered significant broken bones and injuries to his face from the crash, Oremus said.
After first obliging to the officers' commands to lie on the ground, Erickson became uncooperative and stood up. Officers then utilized a less-lethal bean bag round, striking Erickson in the lower back.
After being taken to the hospital, Erickson admitted to officers he took "two hits of acid" four hours earlier.
Officers praised
Oremus commended his officers in their efforts to eventually take Erickson in custody. More than a dozen officers responded to the scene.
Oremus said in addition to the officer pursuing Erickson, multiple squads were placed at areas to prevent him from entering higher traffic areas.
"They did what they are trained to do," Oremus said. "We want to protect our officers and the community, and that requires us to sometimes use force in a safe manner."
Oremus said the number of officers were called because of the nature of the high-risk chase. Though the suspect was naked, police still responded with their shields because Oremus said they didn't know if he had something, possibly a weapon, in his hands.
Moreover, officers applied the less-lethal munition from a distance because there have been too many times where officers have been injured having to bring a suspect to the ground.
"We want to limit officers getting hurt," Oremus said. "They all followed protocol to limit injuries for everyone involved."
Girlfriend also charged
Oremus said given Erickson's "bizarre behavior," officers responded to Erickson's residence at an apartment at 338 Jackson Court, where he shares a residence with his girlfriend, Katie Wiedenbeck, 31, who has also been charged in this case.
Wiedenbeck told officers Erickson took two tabs of LSD before leaving the apartment. She said she attempted to prevent Erickson from leaving the apartment when he punched her in the face. According to a criminal complaint, officers found numerous items of drug paraphernalia and controlled substances in Wiedenbeck's bedroom.
Officers found her behavior to also be bizarre. She had hard time standing up and appeared disoriented. A .38 caliber revolver was also found on the table. A heroin cooker with two capped syringes, a marijuana pipe and LSD were found on the dresser.
As a result, she has been charged with a count of possessing narcotic drugs, possessing THC and possessing drug paraphernalia.
She appeared in court on Aug. 13 and signed a $1,500 signature bond. As terms of her bond, she is to have no contact with Erickson, not use/possess any controlled substances without a valid prescription and not possess any drug paraphernalia. She will appear in court for a hearing on Aug. 20.