Kevina Freeman, 23, was driving on I-43 in Milwaukee on May 15 when she was pulled over around 11 a.m. The deputy stopped her for speeding, alleging she was doing 71 mph in a 55 mph zone. According to police, the woman gave the deputy a false name although she admitted she did not have insurance. The passenger in the vehicle, her mother, did nothing to reveal her daughter’s true identity.
Another deputy arrived to help and parked behind the first officer. Dashcams in both squad cars were running.
The deputies then told the woman a tow truck was coming and told her to remove all her personal items from the vehicle. The trunk of the car was then opened. Her mother got out of the vehicle and was standing next to the front passenger door she left open. Freeman then allegedly went back into the car and when it seemed like she was in there too long, two deputies went to the driver’s door and opened it. According to the criminal complaint, Freeman said, “I’m never going to get my car back.” She then put her car in reverse.
The dashcam videos show her backing up at a relative high rate of speed until she struck the first parked patrol car. She then took off. While she was reversing one of the deputies was thrown into a lane of oncoming traffic while a second deputy hung on to the door before falling into the lane. Freeman’s mother was knocked into a concrete wall by the open passenger door and suffered leg injuries.
Wisconsin has a “move over” law requiring motorists to slow down and move away if possible from emergency vehicles that are parked. Not all drivers were doing this but fortunately the deputies thrown into the lane of traffic were not struck.
Freeman was apprehended three days later. She gave investigators an alibi; she was with her boyfriend at the time of the incident. But when the boyfriend was questioned he said he did not want to get into trouble and said Freeman had told him about how she hit a police car.
Freeman has been charged with five felonies. She is facing two counts of reckless endangerment, two counts of harming someone while fleeing police, and one count of damaging property while fleeing.
Freeman’s mother, Antoinette Coates, has been charged with obstructing an officer.
After the initial stop, Freeman was looking at being fined. She now faces up to 53 years in prison and her bond has been set at $25,000.