Brandon B. Brasch, 31, New London was charged with taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent, a fourth drunken driving offense and operating a vehicle after revocation of his license.
At approximately 3 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 16, Waupaca Police Officer Paul Benzschawel was westbound on Royalton Street, near Tower Road, when he observed the vehicle in front of him driving erratically.
The car drifted over onto the right shoulder, then veered completely over into the eastbound lane, according to the criminal complaint.
Benzschawel activated his emergency lights, and the vehicle pulled over, striking the curb.
As he approached the vehicle, Benzschawel could see a woman, who was slumped over in the back seat.
She was unconscious and unresponsive.
Waupaca Police Sgt. Mario Graceffa and Waupaca County Sheriff’s Deputy Timothy Myers arrived at the scene.
The officers were unable to wake the woman, and they called an ambulance.
The driver, identified as Brasch, had difficulty maintaining his balance after he exited the vehicle, the report says.
Graceffa had to catch him as Brasch nearly fell over.
Brasch told police he had been at Schueller’s Great Exspechtations, a restaurant and bar located on Royalton Street about a quarter-mile from where the police had stopped Brasch.
According to the criminal complaint, Brasch tried to light a cigarette while the police were questioning him on the side of the road. Graceffa took it away from him and threw it on the road.
Brasch picked the cigarette back up and tried to smoke it.
After Benzschawel took the cigarette away again, Brasch reportedly began threatening to kill the officers, saying, “I am going to shoot you with my 9 mm.”
Police did not find any weapons on Brasch.
Then, Brasch attempted to run away, and Benzschawel directed him to the ground and handcuffed him.
The officers escorted Brasch to a squad car and placed him in the back seat.
The officers then received a call from dispatch regarding a vehicle, which had just been reported stolen from Schueller’s.
The stolen vehicle matched the description of the one Brasch had been driving.
Brasch was transported to Riverside Medical Center for a blood draw.
According to the criminal complaint, he had a 0.222 blood-alcohol level.
Officers also went to Schueller’s, where they spoke with the bartender.
She told police Brasch and the woman had been been drinking at the bar.
Because they seemed too intoxicated to drive home, she offered to give them a ride, after she closed.
She took them out to her car and left them there with the engine running while she finished closing the bar.
When she returned to the parking lot, her car was missing.
Brasch was convicted of his third drinking and driving offense in February 2009.
His driver’s license was revoked for 30 months and has not been reinstated.