Civil Lawsuit Issued Against an Egregious Reckless Driver

MILWAUKEE, WI – On November 17, 2022, at the request of the Milwaukee Police Department, the City of Milwaukee filed a second civil lawsuit against an egregious reckless driver, who was served with the summons and complaint over the weekend. The defendant, LaShawn Thomas, has amassed a total of thirty-seven (37) traffic-related citations in the City of Milwaukee since 2017, thirteen (13) of those received this year alone. Mr. Thomas’ cited offenses include reckless driving, failure to stop, unsafe passing and speeding.

The lawsuit alleges that Mr. Thomas’ ongoing negligent and reckless driving affects the quality of life and safety of our community and is a public nuisance. We are requesting that a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge find that Mr. Thomas’ dangerous driving is a public nuisance and order injunctive and equitable relief. Failure to comply with that injunction could result in contempt of court remedies, such as seizing his vehicle or being sentenced to jail.

MPD has identified twenty (20) offenders that have been ticketed more than ten (10) times in the past five years. MPD has made efforts to notify each of those offenders that they may be the subject of a future lawsuit if their reckless driving behavior continues.

“MPD continues to work on a multifaceted approach to combat reckless driving and need assistance from everyone, including our community. The civil litigation approach against egregious reckless drivers is intended to send a clear message to all the chronic reckless drivers in Milwaukee that we take the safety of everyone on the roadways in our community very seriously,” said Chief Jeffrey Norman.

Additional information about MPD’s reckless driving initiatives can be found in the MPD 2022 Community Report that was released in June.  The report can be found here:

Milwaukee Police department 2022 COMMUNITY Report: INITIATIVES AND PARTNERSHIPS (mkepdpio.org)

To be part of the solution, slow down, drive safely and report reckless driving at MPDTSU.org

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.