Superior Police Release Dash Cam Video Of Officer Unknowingly Running Over Pedestrian
The Superior Police Department released the dash cam footage late last week that shows the incident that took place recently involving a police officer on patrol and a pedestrian.
Sadly, the officer unknowingly ran over the pedestrian who was laying in the road the night of February 19, 2022. As the officer turned a corner, the pedestrian was in the road and appears to be wearing darker clothing.
The Superior Police Department says Incident 22SP02315 involved Officer Joshua Sislo, who joined the department on May 5th, 2021. The incident report states that on February 19, officers were dispatched to be on the lookout for a male suspected of prowling cars in the area of Tower Avenue and Broadway Street.
While searching the area for this person, Officer Sislo was travelling North on Tower Avenue and turned eastbound onto N. 8th Street. Once on that street, he noticed his squad experience a bump and he looked back into his side view mirror, but did not see anything. He then assumed he had simply driven over a piece of snow or ice in the road.
However, a short time later a 911 call was received regarding a person lying in roadway on N. 8th Street near Tower Avenue. Officer Sislo returned to the scene and requested an emergency medical response. He knew he had driven down the road just minutes earlier and he notified his Sergeant that he may have driven over the victim. He then requested the Sergeant review his squad car footage for evidence.
Just past the 2 and a half minute mark in the the video you can catch a quick glimpse of what appears to be a person lying in the road as the squad car makes the turn. It's in the bottom right of the screen.
Since the incident involved a Superior Police Officer, the department requested the Wisconsin Department of Justice, along with the Wisconsin State Patrol, conduct an investigation. They note the purpose of this request is to maintain transparency and to help promote public confidence in the process. Per department policy, Officer Sislo was placed on Administrative Leave while the investigation was being conducted.
Superior Police Chief Nicholas Alexander states in his press release that "upon review of the records available to me, I believe the final finding will be that this was a tragic and unfortunate accident".
He also expressed sincere well wishes to the victim, who has since been released from the hospital and is currently at home recovering from their injuries.