GREEN BAY, WI — A Green Bay police officer that struck a fleeing suspect with his squad car reaches a plea deal with prosecutors. Matthew Knutson is convicted in Brown County Court on one count of Attempted Misconduct in Office. A charge of Negligent Operation of a Vehicle was dismissed. Knutson hit a man running from a traffic stop on the east side of Green Bay in November of 2021. He did not include that action in his report on the incident. Green Bay Police did not learn of it until the suspect filed a formal complaint in October of 2022. The incident was captured on Knutson’s dashcam and body camera footage. Knutson was ordered to pay a fine of 500-dollars. He remains suspended from the police force.
Following Knutson’s conviction and sentence, Green Bay Police Chief Chris Davis released the following statement:
As police officers, we are accountable for our actions. That is how it should be. The police service is based on trust, and we must always be worthy of that trust. We have a tremendous responsibility to keep the community safe, and to do so in a way that follows the law and our policies, and that respects people’s Constitutional and human rights. The vast majority of police professionals live up to this responsibility every day.
We appreciate the community’s understanding and patience as we work through the process of completing a thorough and fair investigation into this incident. We would like to thank the community for their continued support and for holding us to a high standard.
The Green Bay Police Department expects to issue its administrative investigation findings in this case shortly.
