Green Bay officer accused of hitting man with car released on signature bond

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - A Green Bay police officer facing criminal charges made his first court appearance Wednesday morning.

Officer Matthew Knutson is charged with misconduct in public office and negligent operation of a vehicle. A court commissioner set a signature bond of $2,500.

Knutson was charged last month after the district attorney’s office learned he used his squad car to knock down a man who was running from police back in November 2021.

A suspect, who had warrants for his arrest, fled a traffic stop. Bodycam and dashcam footage released by the Green Bay Police Department shows Knutson driving into a grassy area outside an apartment building and hitting the man.

When the suspected driver was in custody, Knutson asked, “So when you ran into my car, you didn’t hurt anything did you?” The man shook his head no.

The man later complained about leg pain to another officer. The sergeant asked if he pulled a muscle running and the man replied, “He hit me with his vehicle.”

The police department learned about Knutson’s actions almost a year later and suspended him in October.

Knutson has been with the Green Bay Police Department for 13 years.

Green Bay police news conference on April 18, 2023. Warning: Video may be disturbing to some viewers.

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