FOND DU LAC — A Wisconsin
police officer involved in a high-speed crash in November had been disciplined
for two other crashes in the preceding year, according to documents obtained by
The Reporter Media.
Officer Melissa Sprangers ran
into another squad car while responding to a request for backup last fall. The
crash totaled both cars and sent Sprangers and another officer to the hospital.
Sprangers had been going up to
67 mph and was speeding at 62 mph when her vehicle hit the other squad, police
documents showed. She was not wearing a seatbelt.
Fond du Lac police suspended
her for 20 days. She had been suspended for one day for a March, 13, 2013,
crash in which investigators determined she was driving too fast. She also
received a written warning for a Nov. 15, 2012, accident in which she hit a
parked car.
Fond du Lac Police Chief Bill
Lamb admonished Sprangers for having three crashes in about a year and warned
her that additional ones would result in harsher punishment.
“Further violations of city
policies … will not be tolerated,” Lamb wrote in a Jan. 2 letter to Sprangers
obtained by the newspaper.
Assistant Police Chief Steve
Klein said the 20-day suspension showed how seriously the department considered
the issue.
“It was quite a lengthy
suspension for this officer which sends a strong message that we are bound by
the law to drive with due regard when operating an emergency vehicle,” he said.
“This officer has been put on notice that any future actions such as this are
unacceptable. We’ve already dealt with a warning and now two suspensions and we
expect there will not be any future violations.”
Spranger has been required to
undergo remedial driving training. All officers complete a one-day driving
course every two years.
Klein said officers have to be
prepared for scrutiny.
“The public expects the police
department to operate and respond to emergency situations in a safe manner,” he
said.