Cop Injured Chasing Sussex Man Attempting to Avoid Third OWI

A 24-year-old Sussex man is facing charges after he led Shorewood officers on a foot chase — in which a cop was injured — as he attempted to escape his third drunken driving arrest.

Kyle E. C. Kochanski was charged in Milwaukee County Circuit Court Monday with one count of obstructing an officer and causing a soft tissue injury and one count of third offense operating while intoxicated. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison and $12,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

On Saturday, a Shorewood officer spotted Kochanski driving a pickup truck in the 3700 block of North Oakland Avenue, driving 45 miles per hour in a 25 miles per hour speed zone. The officer pulled him over in the 4000 block of North Larkin Avenue.

Kochanski smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes and told the officer he had one or two drinks before driving. He was asked to take field sobriety tests, which he then failed.

The officer asked Kochanski to take a Breathalyzer test, but he refused. The officer asked again and Kochanski said, “I’m not going anywhere,” and then fled on foot.

The officer began to chase him, but injured his right hamstring in the chase and had to give up. A second officer assisting at the scene caught and tackled Kochanski while he was trying to kick off his dress shoes, but Kochanski got up and began to run again.

The officer then deployed a Taser and stunned Kochanski, who then fell into a bush and was subsequently arrested. Officers searched his truck and found an open bottle of Bacardi. He later told officers he gave his brother’s name when first pulled over.

The injured officer is expected to miss several days of work.

Kochanski has been convicted of OWI in 2009 and on Aug. 30 in Waukesha County. He’s currently being held in Milwaukee County Jail.