Not long after leaving a press conference to address reckless driving, the car of Milwaukee’s police chief was hit by the driver of a dump truck who didn’t stop at an intersection, Wisconsin Public Radio reports. The crash reportedly took place only minutes after Chief Jeffrey Norman left the conference just after 10:00 a.m. Monday morning. Norman was taken to a nearby hospital in an ambulance and was reportedly seen wearing a neck brace.
In a statement, the department said the police chief sustained “non-life threatening injuries” and that the driver of the dump truck stayed at the scene and was cooperating with investigators.
“I have reached out to Chief Norman to offer my wishes for a quick recovery. The traffic crash that injured the Chief was cruelly coincidental in that it took place immediately following our news conference on reckless driving,” Milwaukee mayor Cavalier Johnson said in a statement. “We did not need this type of reminder that all drivers need to slow down and increase caution on our roadways.”
The press conference was held after Johnson signed a resolution that asked state lawmakers to allow the city to impound any vehicle driven by someone cited for reckless driving. The resolution was unanimously passed by the city council. Currently, law enforcement can only impound a vehicle if the reckless driver owned the vehicle and had previously received a reckless driving citation. If Milwaukee gets its way, though, police will be able to impound the car even if it’s not owned by the person charged with reckless driving.
“If you’re going to drive recklessly, you’re going to lose your car — if the state follows our pleading, and it is pleading at this point, for additional tools to deal with reckless driving,” Milwaukee Alder Scott Spiker told reporters.