Wis. Man Who Hit Police Car Says He Was Upset About Marijuana Citation

HUDSON, Wis. (WCCO) -- Four months after a driver crashed into a Hudson police cruiser, the case just got much more serious.

What officers thought was a case of distracted driving may have been a case of revenge.

You can see in the dash cam video taken from inside an officer's cruiser in late March the driver crosses the line, injuring an officer and totaling his cruiser.

After the crash happened, deputies cited 21-year-old Quinton Hesse.  He said he was distracted when he crashed into the officer.

Officers say Hesse now says he was angry at law enforcement for something that happened earlier.

From the start, it was easy to tell this accident was serious.

Thankfully, Officer Andrew Wedell lived to talk about it, sharing the details with WCCO back in April.

"It actually finally has sunk in to exactly what could have been the outcome," Wedell said.

Hudson Police Chief Marty Jensen quickly got to the scene.

"This came out as inattentive driving," Jensen said.

He says Hesse was the driver in the oncoming car.

"He said he was driving down the road, got distracted by something, wasn't quite sure what it was and then he broadsided the side of my squad car as it was coming around a curve," Jensen said.

The story behind the crash has now changed. Jensen says Hesse showed up at another police station and confessed.

"We were a little bit surprised that Mr. Hesse did come forward with this," Jensen said.

Hudson investigators questioned Hesse again and he told them he was angry that March day because officers in Minnesota had cited him for having marijuana.

"He said he was very upset about that and that when he was driving on Couley Road, he saw the squad car and then intentionally drove right into it," Jensen said.

Hesse told officers after hitting the car he felt "terrible."  He's now facing charges for endangering a police officer -- in a crash it seems was anything but an accident .

Hesse is in jail in Wisconsin, charged with battery to law enforcement officer, use of a dangerous weapon and first degree recklessly endangering safety, use of a dangerous weapon. He is set to undergo mental health evaluations. Hudson Police haven't replaced the totaled squad car -- but Wedell is back on the road and healthy.