MILWAUKEE — A man from Milwaukee faces multiple felonies after trapping a police officer in the backseat of his car as he fled, injuring the officer after a crash.
26-year-old Kewane Daniels of Milwaukee is charged with 1st and 2nd degree recklessly endangering safety, false imprisonment, and operating a vehicle while eluding an officer.
According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee Police responded to a domestic call at the Comfort Suites on W. Silver Spring Drive and I-41 on January 2, 2026. A woman said she had property taken from her by Daniels, who had two warrants out for his arrest.
Police called Daniels to “come outside and meet [the woman]…. where [l]aw [e]nforcement were going to assist with both arresting Daniels and to facilitate the exchange of property”. He came out and walked over to his car, when an officer approached the open rear passenger door and drew his gun.
The officer “positioned himself behind the open door while peering into the vehicle to ensure that Daniels was not retrieving a firearm from the driver’s seat area. [He] issu[ed] lawful orders for Daniels to not place the car into drive. Daniels ignored these lawful orders and accelerated in reverse in an attempt to flee”.
The officer could not keep up with the car going quickly in revserse, so he ended up “jump[ing] into the open rear passenger’s seat in order to escape possibility of being knocked down beneath the oncoming vehicle’s door and tires”.
Daniels then drove off recklessly at 90 mph down city streets with the officer keeping his gun aimed at Daniels from the backseat. The unsafe driving and activated child safety locks prevented the officer from getting out of the car, so he continued giving commands to Daniels to stop and pay attention to the roads.
Daniels eventually opened the driver’s side door near N. 92nd Street and W. Birch Avenue and fled, with the car going about 35 mph and the officer trapped in the back seat. The car eventually jumped a curb, drove through a front yard, and crashed into a tree. The 50-year-old officer was injured in the crash, and Daniels was eventually arrested nearby.
During his initial appearance in court on January 8, bail was set at $100,000. Daniels is due back in court on for his preliminary hearing on January 14. If convicted on all charges, he could face up to 34 years in prison.
