Fleeing felon seriously injured after ending up in Appleton recycling truck

By: Stephanie Staudinger

Posted: Sep 6, 2017 3:18 PM CDT | Updated: Sep 6, 2017 5:11 PM CDT

WFRV-- The Appleton Police Department is guarding a man at a local hospital; after his decision to flee officers nearly ended his life.

On September 5, 2017, at approximately 8:15 AM, a lieutenant working a traffic detail saw a disturbance in progress in a parking lot near the intersection of N. Richmond Street and W. Wisconsin Avenue. When he turned into the parking lot to investigate the situation, a male party ran from a vehicle, climbed a fence and disappeared into a residential area. Officers established a perimeter as they attempted to determine why the man had fled. They quickly learned of a felony warrant for the man.

A short time later, an officer had contact with a City of Appleton employee, who was operating a recycling truck in the area. The employee reported emptying a recycling dumpster at a local business; only to discover the man fleeing officers had been hiding in the dumpster. The man had been dumped, with the recyclables, into the hopper of the truck. The operator heard yelling from the collection area and stopped the vehicle. The man crawled out of the hopper and again ran from the area.

Officers checking the area located the man in a nearby yard. He climbed another fence in an attempt to flee, but collapsed in the next yard. Officers called for an ambulance to address a serious head injury, which was believed to have occurred when the suspect was dumped from the recycling container into the recycling truck.

The 36-year-old man, from Medford, will be confined at the Outagamie County Jail following medical clearance. In addition to a felony parole violation warrant, the Appleton Police Department is requesting he be charged with Obstructing. Additional charges may be requested as an Appleton officer was injured while attempting to apprehend the suspect. The officer was treated at a local hospital and released.