OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) – A 30-year-old Oshkosh Police Officer was injured in the line of duty earlier this morning (TUE) while investigating a complaint in the 1800 block of Robin Avenue in the City of Oshkosh.
Police say at approximately 1:18 AM, officers were dispatched to a suspicious situation complaint in the 1800 block of Robin Avenue. Officers received information that a male at that location was attempting to enter into an apartment that was not his address.
Upon arrival, officers located the suspect who was identified as a 29-year-old male from Milwaukee.
“As officers attempted taking him into custody, he physically fought with the officers. One officer was injured,” says Officer Kate Mann, “This person was physically fighting and trying to hurt officers. Luckily, we were able to take him into custody and the officer was transported to the hospital.
The officer was treated for injuries to the soft tissue in his neck after the suspect choked him.
Incidents like this can raise questions about how officers are allowed to react to certain situations. The time between approaching a suspicious person and having to fight them off can happen in a split-second for police officers, with decisions on use of force being made after an immediate assessment of the situation.
“We go through extensive training as far as the type of use of force we can use. Depending on what the suspect is doing, there are different levels of force we can use,” Mann tells WTAQ News, “Obviously there is a range from people threatening to do something to hurt you – up to them actually doing something to hurt you, and it just keeps going up from there.”
Mann also would not say how the suspect was subdued, as the incident remains under investigation.
The suspect was taken into custody and faces charges ranging from Battery to Law Enforcement Officer, Resisting/Obstructing Officers, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Methamphetamine and a Probation/Parole Hold.
