Video released: Milwaukee man arrested in Racine after allegedly fighting deputies during traffic stop
By Adam Rife
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RACINE, Wisconsin (WDJT) — On Thursday, Aug. 18, the Racine County Sheriff’s Office released new video of a use of force arrest after a suspect tried to get away from deputies the day before.
After pulling over a Milwaukee man for speeding, a sheriff’s K-9 detected drugs, and the suspect tried to get away.
The sheriff called the encounter violent and dangerous, and put the blame solely on the suspect. The video released is only a small portion of the entire encounter.
No deputies were seriously injured, but the sheriff says it could have been a lot worse.
Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling said, “It’s violent. He’s struggling, he’s on the ground with our deputies, he’s violently pulling away.”
Sheriff Schmaling said it didn’t have to be that way. 24-year-old Hezekiah Saffold was pulled over for speeding Wednesday morning on I-94.
Body camera video shows the encounter.
It started when deputies first noticed Saffold moving a backpack from the front passenger seat to the back seat. The sheriff said they’re trained to be aware of anything that could conceal a weapon.
A loaded Glock was later found in the backpack with an extended magazine and a round in the chamber.
Sheriff Schmaling said, “Had he been able to access that, again, I would be standing before this community today having a much different conversation.”
When the deputies ran Saffold’s information, they learned he had past convictions for armed robbery and possession of cocaine and heroin. They requested a K-9 to sniff the car.
As deputies explained the speeding ticket to Saffold, the K-9 smelled drugs in the car, and they tried to arrest him.
The video shows the struggle. Several deputies tried to get Saffold to comply, and the K-9 even bit him.
But Saffold still got away and ran into traffic to get back into his car at the same time a deputy hopped in and shut it off.
Sheriff Schmaling said, “Had he put that vehicle into drive, you can imagine dragging a deputy sheriff down the roadway. That would have been, very quickly, a deadly force situation.”
Trying to stop Saffold was a challenge. Deputies tried pepper spray, and five times they used a taser. But because of the struggle it did not fully incapacitate Saffold.
Sheriff Schmaling said, “It is incredibly dangerous. We need to use just enough force to overcome that individual’s resistance towards us.”
Several deputies were eventually able to handcuff him and take him into custody. Sheriff Schmaling said his deputies handled the entire situation the right way. “After feeling chilled after watching this video multiple times, I’m very proud of their actions. I feel they used just enough force to overcome his aggressive, violent actions.”
Cash and cocaine were also found in the backpack.
Saffold is in jail after he was first treated at the hospital for his injuries. He is now facing several charges, including recklessly endangering the safety of the deputies.
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