KASSON -- After allegedly speeding through nine intersections, hitting a dog and trying to run over a police officer, a 19-year-old Kasson driver reportedly told officers, "I was drunk and stupid, what can I say?"
Trevor Earl Lynn Broitzman was charged Monday in Dodge District Court with three felonies, including first-degree assault, first-degree criminal damage to property and fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle. He also faces two gross misdemeanor charges that include criminal vehicular operation and third-degree driving while impaired.
Kasson Police Chief David Johnson said the incident highlights how an ordinary traffic stop can become dangerous.
"When you flip on the red lights, you never know how it is going to go. You can have a routine call or it can turn into something ugly," he said.
The suspect "ran over a dog and tried to hit one of my officers," Johnson said. "He had no regard for life or limb."
According to the criminal complaint, the incident began around 12:30 a.m. Sunday when a Kasson police officer saw Broitzman driving a car on the grass and then squealing his tires near East Main and Second Avenue in Kasson. The officer turned on his lights to make a traffic stop. But Broitzman sped off, traveling up to 70 mph on city streets. Along the way, he crashed into two cars, killed an officer's pet dog and ran stop signs at nine intersections. He drove into a ditch along U.S. 14 west, traveling up to 126 mph.
He then headed south on Dodge County Road 9 and pulled into a driveway, the complaint says. A Dodge County deputy pulled in front of Broitzman's vehicle and a Kasson police officer parked behind. Broitzman rammed his car into the deputy's squad, put his car in reverse and smashed it into the officer's squad as he was getting out, according to the complaint. The officer jumped out of the way to avoid being pinned. The officer tried to pull Broitzman from the vehicle, but he drove off.
He headed north on County Road 9, then east on U.S. 14 and took the exit ramp into Kasson. He swerved off the roadway to avoid a squad car, and his vehicle got stuck. He got out of his vehicle, ran and was caught by officers, the complaint says.
Dodge County Sheriff Gary Thompson praised officers for the chase's peaceful end.
"It's one of those situations where you cannot allow that car to get back into town," he said. "There's a huge potential for some pretty serious injuries. They had to get him to stop."
Broitzman is being held at the Steele County Detention Center in Owatonna. Bail has been set at $100,000.
How sad for you to lose your pet, and in such a senseless way.
