A search for a suspect in Waukesha ended in the basement of a public library Thursday night, where officers tased and arrested a man who turned out to be the wrong guy.
According to the Waukesha Police Department, officers were canvassing the area around 8 p.m. when they spotted someone they believed matched a suspect description. The man reportedly ran into the library’s basement, where officers followed, deployed a taser and took him into custody. Only later did police determine he was not the person they were looking for.
In a statement reported by TMJ4 News, the department said officers “approached a person matching the suspect description,” and that the man “provided no details as to why he fled and resisted law enforcement.” The taser was deployed in the basement during that encounter, police told the outlet, before they realized the man was not the suspect in the separate investigation.
Police Tasers Under Local Microscope
Use of stun devices by law enforcement has been drawing repeated scrutiny across the Milwaukee area, and each incident tends to reopen the debate over what is considered reasonable force.
In one earlier case, prosecutors concluded that a Wauwatosa officer’s taser use was “reasonable,” even though the person subjected to the stun gun later became unresponsive, according to FOX6 Milwaukee.
And at Mayfair Mall, a high-profile confrontation involving officers and an attempted grab for a taser inside a retail store ended with probation this year, rather than prison time, reigniting arguments over force in crowded public settings, as reported in coverage of the taser chaos in Mayfair Mall Sephora.
What We Still Do Not Know
Details on the Waukesha library incident remain limited. Authorities have not released the man’s identity or offered further explanation beyond the department’s brief statement shared with TMJ4 News.
TMJ4 reports that it is continuing to seek additional information and will update its coverage as more becomes available. Anyone with information about what happened Thursday night is asked to contact the Waukesha Police Department.
