Bodycam and surveillance video shows Kenosha police officer tackling theft suspect inside library
By: The Kenosha Police Department Monday released surveillance and body camera video showing a dramatic takedown of a suspect in a bike theft.
On Oct. 11, Officer Myles Smith took a report of a stolen $500 bicycle from a bike shop. A few hours later, he saw the same bicycle outside the Southwest branch of the Kenosha Public Library.
Smith's body camera video from Oct. 11 shows him entering the library, still walking the bike.
"Hey, would you guys happen to know who came here with this bike parked outside?" Smith is heard asking a librarian.
The officer said he was looking for Thomas Asboth, 20, whom he'd already identified as the suspect based on surveillance video from the bike shop.
The officer spotted him sitting at a computer. As the officer asked his name, he took off running, slipping out of his jacket as he ran away. He didn't get far.
According to the criminal complaint charging Asboth with retail theft and obstructing an officer, after the officer got him on the ground and was handcuffing him, Asboth said "I give up. You won."
Asboth also had a warrant for his arrest for a probation violation for an earlier domestic violence conviction.
Kenosha police said the social media post featuring the arrest is a new effort called "Officer of the Week" to highlight the day-to-day work of their officers.
Asboth was released without bail from the Kenosha County Jail on Oct. 16. He is scheduled to be back in court Nov. 10.