Milwaukee Woman Rams Two Squad Cars Fleeing Brookfield Kohl's Theft, Faces 44 Years

A 28-year-old Milwaukee woman allegedly struck two Brookfield police squad cars and injured an officer while fleeing a shoplifting stop at a Kohl's store on 124th Street, a chase that ended only after officers forced her car into a ditch near Calhoun Road. Camara Hamilton now faces more than 44.75 years in prison if convicted on all counts, which include first-degree recklessly endangering safety, attempting to flee police, retail theft, resisting an officer, bail jumping, and multiple drug possession charges.

According to The Freeman, police were called to the Kohl's store at about 12:30 p.m. Saturday after Hamilton was believed to have tried stealing $478 in merchandise, primarily makeup, according to the criminal complaint. An officer later spotted a 2012 Ford Fusion matching the description driving west on North Avenue and attempted to stop it, but Hamilton allegedly disregarded the officer's lights and siren and took off.

The pursuit reportedly reached speeds up to 80 mph as Hamilton drove toward Calhoun Road, per the complaint cited by the outlet. Officers unsuccessfully deployed stop sticks on Calhoun Road, and the report states Hamilton struck one police squad in the front and swiped the driver's side of a second squad car during the chase. Police ultimately conducted a pursuit intervention technique at North Avenue and Memorial Drive before squads pushed her car into a ditch, ending the pursuit.

Officer Injured, Windows Broken During Arrest

One police officer suffered cuts to his right hand during the encounter, the report notes, and officers broke two windows on Hamilton's car while she resisted attempts to take her into custody. She was ultimately arrested and charged with resisting an officer, in addition to the reckless endangerment and eluding counts.

Searches connected to the arrest turned up numerous prescription pills in an unlabeled bottle inside Hamilton's car, including 15 pills of tramadol, an opioid, along with lisinopril, a medication used to treat high blood pressure, according to the same account. Marijuana was also found on her person. She was charged with three counts of possessing an illegally obtained prescription in addition to a controlled substance possession charge. Under Wisconsin Statute § 961.20(4)(e), unlawful possession of tramadol without a valid prescription can carry Class H felony penalties of up to six years in prison, according to Grieve Law, since the drug is classified as a Schedule IV controlled substance. Lisinopril is not a controlled narcotic, but carrying it outside its original pharmacy container still violates Wisconsin's prescription bottle laws, per Van Severen Law Office.

Prior Kohl's Case and Mounting Warrants

Hamilton was already facing a pending Waukesha County felony shoplifting case stemming from a May 15 incident at the same store, and had a separate misdemeanor bail-jumping case open at the time of Saturday's arrest. Court records cited by the outlet show she had four warrants for her arrest and an open Kenosha County case for operating without a license, and her driver's license had been suspended.

Wisconsin law allows prosecutors to combine separate retail theft incidents by the same person into a single felony charge under Statute § 971.36(3), according to Schiro Criminal Defense — a mechanism that helps explain how the May shoplifting case and Saturday's incident could compound Hamilton's total exposure even though retail theft under $2,500 is typically only a Class A misdemeanor.

Bail Set, Court Dates Ahead

Waukesha County Court Commissioner Daniel Rieck ordered Hamilton held on $8,000 cash bail in connection with Saturday's charges and separately set $700 cash bail in the pending felony shoplifting case, plus $200 cash bail in the misdemeanor bail-jumping matter. Rieck, who has served as a court commissioner since 2020 and received the Waukesha County Bar Association's Community Service Award in 2024, also ordered Hamilton to have no contact with the Kohl's store on 124th Street and barred her from entering any Ulta Beauty store in Wisconsin. She was additionally ordered to have no contact with the alleged police-officer victim from Saturday's chase.

Hamilton is due back in court September 1 to address the status of her legal representation, with a preliminary hearing set for September 2. Under Wisconsin Statute § 941.30(1), the first-degree recklessly endangering safety charge alone is a Class F felony carrying up to 12.5 years in prison, according to Angela Olson Law, while fleeing an officer under Statute § 346.04(3) is a Class I felony punishable by up to 3.5 years.

A Recurring Flashpoint on the County Line

The Kohl's involved sits along the 124th Street commercial corridor that forms much of the border between Milwaukee and Waukesha counties, a stretch that has repeatedly drawn suspects attempting to flee back toward Milwaukee. Hoodline reported another shoplifting chase at the same store earlier this month, involving $112 in stolen merchandise. Calhoun Road, where stop sticks were again attempted Saturday, was also the site of an April pursuit that ended when officers deployed stop sticks after a 30-minute chase that began in Milwaukee. In February, Brookfield police used multiple PIT maneuvers during a six-mile chase along I-94 to stop a Milwaukee man fleeing a Best Buy theft, a case in which the driver faced up to 88 years in prison after injuring an officer and a civilian.

How the Waukesha County District Attorney's Office plans to coordinate Hamilton's new charges with her open Kenosha County case and pending Waukesha shoplifting matter remains unclear, as does whether Brookfield's pursuit policy specifically authorizes PIT maneuvers for property crimes that escalate into vehicular eluding.