Woman punches cop, attempts to flee, runs into squad car

Police, wearing Kevlar, unharmed from punches

A retail theft charge doesn’t sound so bad now for a Sparta woman.

Instead, Delores Warthan tried to run. “Tried” being the key word. She also had a knife. And, in her getaway attempt, punched a La Crosse police officer. 

Don’t worry, the officer was wearing a Kevlar vest, and the 28-year-old’s punches to his chest were thwarted. Her escape after those fists of fury was thwarted, as well. Thwarted by the unfortunate placement of a squad car, she must not have seen.

Around noon Saturday, Warthan was caught on video stealing about $90 of merchandise from Shopko on the south side of La Crosse.

Security called police. When they arrived, she was just leaving.

Officers asked if she could show them what was in her purse, but, before she did, Shopko security said she might have a knife in there.

Police told her to stop reaching inside her purse. Instead, the woman gave police her purse – it’s unclear from the police report if she thrust it at them or just simply handed it over – before attempting to run away.

Sure enough, resting on the very top of her purse, police found an X-Acto Knife.

As she tried to run, an officer grabbed her. She screamed, turned and began punching him in the chest.

She, apparently, broke free from his grasp, but then must have been looking back, and ran smack into the front fender of the police’s squad car.

It was there, police finally arrested her. Now charged with battery to law enforcement, two counts of retail theft, disorderly conduct while armed, resisting arrest and bail jumping.