Twenty-second chase costs Port man one year in jail

What may be one of the shorter police chases in history — just three-tenths of a mile — cost a Port Washington man a year in jail.

Eric C. Armstrong, 38, who according to authorities was drunk when he drove away from officers in February and ended the chase by pulling over 20 seconds after the pursuit started, was sentenced in Ozaukee County Circuit Court Wednesday after pleading guilty to one felony count of fleeing an officer last month.

Judge Sandy Williams withheld a prison sentence, placed Armstrong on probation for three years and ordered him to serve one year in the county jail as a condition of probation. 

Assistant District Attorney Kerra Stumbris recommended during Armstrong’s October plea hearing that he be sentenced to one year in prison followed by a year of extended supervision.

According to a criminal complaint, police officers were called to a home on Port Washington’s North Milwaukee Street at 6:17 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18, for a report of a drunk man who was trying to break into the house and was yelling and causing a disturbance.

As Lt. Jerry Nye arrived, he saw a man later identified as Armstrong run to a silver  truck parked outside the house and get in the driver’s seat. Nye, who was parked directly behind the truck, activated his vehicle’s emergency lights. That’s when Armstrong drove away “in a rapid fashion,” the complaint states.

Nye activated his siren and followed Armstrong north on Milwaukee Street. At a stop sign, Armstrong slowed but didn’t stop before turning west on Van Buren Street. At the intersection with Weber Street, Armstrong again slowed down but didn’t stop as he continued west.

Nye was about to break off the chase when Armstrong stopped suddenly after turning onto Holden Street, got out of the truck with his hands raised and said he overreacted and apologized.

Armstrong hit speeds of about 35 mph during the chase, according to the complaint.

Nye noticed Armstrong smelled of alcohol, and a preliminary breath test indicated he had an alcohol level of .18, the complaint states.

Armstrong told officers that he “screwed up” but didn’t want to be arrested in front of his children, who were at the Milwaukee Street house, according to the complaint.

Another officer talked to a woman at the house who identified herself as Armstrong’s fiancee and said he had been drinking since about 10 a.m. that morning, so she went to her sisters home, which is the house where the incident started. 

The woman said Armstrong came to the house and was yelling at her to give him the keys to his truck, which she normally drives. She and the owner of the home told Armstrong he had to leave, but he refused, and as the women were pushing him out of the house he grabbed the keys for his truck and drove away, the complaint states.

Armstrong was also charged with disorderly conduct, but that charge was dropped as part of a plea agreement and read into the record, which means Williams was free to consider it when sentencing him.