Death by Cop 2021-2025
Search fatalities
You can use any or all of the fields to refine the search.
Logan Anthony Zappa
Age : 20
Gender : Male
Race : White
Date : 08/14/2021
Location : County Highway T and County Highway H
City : Stanton
County : St. Croix
State : Wisconsin
Agency : New Richmond Police Department
Officer(s) :Not Disclosed
Cause of Death : Vehicle
Event : Driver killed by police chase crash
OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :
.
REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
License plates that did not match the vehicle. At approximately 3:16 a.m. on 08/01/2021, New Richmond Police Department officers attempted to stop a 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by 20-year-old Logan Zappa after determining that the license plates displayed on the Pontiac did not belong to that vehicle. Zappa continued driving away on County Highway T and police pursued.
.
EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 08/01/2021, 20-year-old Logan Zappa of Deer Park was critically injured when his Pontiac Grand Prix crashed into a pickup truck after a New Richmond Police Department pursuit in the Town of Stanton. Zappa survived for nearly two weeks before dying from his injuries on 08/14/2021. Because the database records the date of death, the correct Date field is 08/14/2021.
.
The encounter began at approximately 3:16 a.m. when New Richmond police attempted to stop Zappa because the license plates displayed on his 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix did not match the vehicle. The initiating reason therefore was an equipment/registration violation rather than a violent crime, warrant or reported stolen vehicle.
.
Zappa continued driving away on County Highway T while New Richmond officers pursued. The pursuit continued north through rural St. Croix County toward 200th Avenue.
.
New Richmond police then discontinued the pursuit near 200th Avenue. This is an important part of the chronology: officers did not continue chasing Zappa all the way to the fatal collision. After police terminated the pursuit, Zappa continued north on County Highway T for approximately another 2½ miles.
.
At the intersection of County Highway T and County Highway H, authorities said Zappa entered the intersection without stopping at the stop sign. A pickup truck traveling on County Highway H struck the driver's side of the Pontiac.
.
Zappa was trapped in the wreckage and had to be extricated. Emergency personnel transported him to Regions Hospital in St. Paul with serious injuries. The pickup driver was treated at the crash scene and released.
.
No PIT/TVI maneuver, stop sticks, roadblock or intentional police-vehicle contact is identified in the available reporting. The fatal collision occurred approximately 2½ miles after New Richmond police discontinued their pursuit. The available reports do not provide a measured maximum pursuit speed, exact pursuit duration, the distance between Zappa and police when the pursuit was terminated, or the specific reason officers decided to discontinue it.
.
Zappa remained hospitalized at Regions Hospital following the August 1 crash. The St. Croix County Sheriff's Office subsequently announced that he died from his injuries on Saturday, August 14. He was 20 years old and lived in Deer Park, Wisconsin.
.
The available public reporting provides little information about Zappa's life beyond identifying him as a young Deer Park resident. No reliable obituary or family account located for this reconstruction provides enough additional biographical information to add without speculation.
.
The St. Croix County Sheriff's Office investigated the collision because it occurred outside New Richmond's jurisdiction. The crash investigation therefore was separate from the New Richmond Police Department's decision to initiate and subsequently terminate the pursuit.
.
OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The New Richmond Police Department officer or officers who attempted to stop Logan Zappa and participated in the pursuit have not been publicly identified in the contemporary and follow-up reporting located for this reconstruction.
