Dodge County Man Pleads Guilty For Wild Multi-Agency Chase

Mantorville, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Dodge County man has been convicted of a felony charge stemming from a law enforcement chase last year that included multiple attempts to subdue him using Tasers and pepper balls.

The criminal complaint filed in the case indicates the pursuit began after a State Trooper attempted to serve a DNA search warrant on 49-year-old Kyle Steven Eckhoff. The court document says the trooper located a rental car associated with the Dodge Center man at an apartment complex and waited for him to come out of the residence.

According to the trooper, Eckhoff left the residence and got into the vehicle and was seen rapidly accelerating to pass a truck. That's when the trooper initiated a traffic stop and Eckhoff responded by driving away at speeds reaching 90 mph.

The charging document says the trooper then broke off the pursuit and a Dodge County Sheriff's Sergeant later spotted the rental vehicle in Claremont and saw Eckhoff come out from behind the garage. The Sergeant indicated he confronted Eckhoff, who responded by walking away.

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The criminal complaint says the Sergeant eventually deployed his Taser and shocked Eckhoff when he refused to stop. Despite being knocked to the ground by the shock, the court document says Eckhoff got up and "squared up in an aggressive stance" before he got into the rental car and sped away.

That led to a pursuit involving multiple law enforcement officers. The criminal complaint states that a State Trooper successfully deployed stop sticks on a rural highway, which flattened one of the car's tires, but Eckhoff continued to drive with sparks shooting out from the rim after the tire deflated.

The court document describes how Eckhoff eventually stopped and was seen reaching into the back seat of the car, which prompted a Dodge County deputy to fire five rounds of pepper balls at him when he ignored orders to stop. It says Eckhoff then approached the deputy with "an apparent attitude to attack," and that's when Eckhoff received a second shock from a Taser.

The deputy reported that he was forced to use his Taser a second time when Eckhoff attempted to get back up. He was eventually subdued, handcuffed, and placed in the squad car. The criminal complaint says Eckhoff then bit off swab sticks when they were placed in his mouth by a State Trooper attempting to serve the DNA warrant.

Eckhoff was charged with a single count of fleeing police. He entered a guilty plea to the charge earlier this week through a plea agreement that calls for a probationary sentence. Eckhoff's sentencing hearing is scheduled in June.