HOBART, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A police officer is recovering after accidentally shooting himself during a traffic stop that shut down part of a major area highway for much of Wednesday afternoon.
Authorities say the 36-year-old Hobart-Lawrence Police officer is expected to be OK.
Meanwhile, police say a 30-year-old Hobart man was safely taken into custody after initially refusing to get out of his vehicle when pulled over.
It all stemmed from a call for a welfare check at about 8 a.m. Wednesday. Officers could not initially find the man.
“A short time later around 1 o’clock in the afternoon, the officer spotted the male. A small pursuit ensued with the male,” said Dan Van Lanen, an investigator with Hobart-Lawrence Police.
Authorities say that pursuit started near Highway VV and Highway 29 heading east. It ended with the man pulling over at the next exit, near highways 29 and Highway FF, or Hillcrest Drive.
That is when police say the 7-year veteran of the Hobart-Lawrence Police Department accidently shot himself in the hip.
FOX 11 asked how the officer accidently shot himself.
“I’m not sure yet,” said Van Lanen. “I know it was shortly after the male pulled over .The officer was starting to get out of the car, I believe, when this occurred.”
Police say crisis negotiators were eventually able to get the driver out of his vehicle and taken into custody. They couldn’t tell us what prompted the original welfare call or why the driver initially wouldn’t get out of his vehicle.
The highway reopened at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
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