Man Hit With Less-Lethal Shotgun, Charged in High-Speed Chase

A 36-year-old Waukesha man is accused of leading Waukesha police officers on a drunken high speed chase before they had to shoot him several times with a less-lethal shotgun and stun him with a Taser in order to arrest him, according to a criminal complaint.

Keith D. Lee was charged in Waukesha County Circuit Court on Monday with one count of attempting to flee or elude an officer and one count of second offense operating while intoxicated. If convicted, he faces up to two years in prison and $11,100 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

At 2:15 a.m. Thursday, a Waukesha police officer was on patrol near West Main Street and Barstow Street, when he heard a loud engine rev several times, then heard tires squealing and saw a car speed off eastbound on Main Street. The officer turned to follow the car when he spotted it run through a flashing red light at North East Avenue and continue to speed up.

The officer followed the car and near Oakland Avenue it crossed the center line and continued to speed up to more than 55 miles per hour. As the car approached Manhattan Avenue, the officer noticed another car coming towards Lee’s vehicle, so Lee made a sudden left turn onto northbound Manhattan, causing the other car to slam on its brakes and swerve to avoid hitting Lee’s car.

Lee travelled in the left lane of traffic and shortly after passing Niagara Street, slammed on his brakes and came to a complete stop in the roadway, causing the officer to slam on his brakes and stop as well. Lee drove into the Pick ‘n Save parking lot, then out onto Jennifer Lane where another squad car turned on its emergency lights and followed Lee.

Lee then drove through stop signs at Butler Drive and Greenway Terrace at speeds of more than 70 miles per hour. Lee continued onto Butler Drive, then onto Wolf Road and onto Saratoga Road where Lee finally came to a stop.

Lee refused to listen to officer commands and swore and flipped his middle fingers at officers. A passenger in the car kept telling Lee to shut up and listen to the officers, but Lee continued to refuse.

Lee told officers to “shoot me,” then reached into his pocket. Officers were unsure if Lee was reaching for a weapon, so he was shot several times with a less lethal shotgun before he finally complied and got on his stomach on the ground.

However, as officers approached, Lee tried to get up, so they had to stun him with a Taser in order to put him in handcuffs.

The passenger told officers he and Lee had been drinking at Fox Run Bowling for a work function, then they went to a downtown bar. He said Lee offered to give him a ride home and refused to pull over despite knowing officers were following him.

Lee was taken to Waukesha Memorial Hospital where he continued to be uncooperative with officers trying to administer field sobriety tests. He eventually submitted to a Breathalyzer test, which revealed a blood alcohol level of 0.24 percent, which is three times more than the legal limit to drive in Wisconsin.

Lee was previously convicted of OWI in 2009.  He’s currently free on $5,000 bond while awaiting trial.