Sandy MaloneMilwaukee, WI – A Milwaukee police officer was killed while serving a warrant with the Tactical Enforcement Unit (TEU) on Wednesday morning.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett confirmed the tragic news at a press conference at Froedtert Hospital on Wednesday afternoon.
Officials have not yet released the name of the murdered officer because his family is still being notified, Barrett told reporters.
The fallen officer’s wife has already been notified, the mayor confirmed.
The incident began at 9:17 a.m. on Feb. 6 when the TEU went to serve a warrant at a home on the 2900-block of South 12th Street, Milwaukee Police Assistant Chief Michael Brunson said.
Three minutes later, the officers made contact with two suspects at the home, and one of them opened fire.
The wounded officer was transported to the Froedtert Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
A neighbor told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he heard the Tactical Enforcement Unit announcing an address over a loudspeaker just before 9:20 a.m.
He said he looked out his window and saw a black armored vehicle and police officers swarming his neighbor’s house.
The neighbor said he heard about five seconds of gunfire, and then he heard someone yelled “shots fired!”
The officer who was killed was 35 years old and a 17-year veteran of the Milwaukee Police Department, Barrett said.
“This officer was well loved by everyone on the department… and we are deeply impacted by this loss,” Chief Brunson said.
He said the suspect was a 26-year-old man from Milwaukee, but did not identify him. The chief said further information about the suspect would be available in the future.
State records revealed that the gunman has never been charged as an adult with a felony or misdemeanor, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation is handling the investigation, which Chief Brunson repeatedly referred to as “fluid.”
This is the third line-of-duty death for the Milwaukee Police Department in the last eight months.
“This is the third time in eight months that I’ve had to stand at a podium and talk about the loss of the life of a police officer. We need all residents of this community, all residents of this state, to be thankful and appreciative to every single law enforcement official in the state,” the mayor said at the press conference. “They put their lives on the line every day for us. They’re well-trained, they’re certainly well-prepared. They’re courageous… They put themselves in situations where evil people do evil things.”
“We ask for your prayers at this time. I am filled with sorrow over this needless loss, and at the same time I’m filled with anger at the individual who took the life of this brave police officer,” he continued. “He was doing his job. He was working to make our city safe. And he died.”
Milwaukee Officer Charles Irvine was killed in a car crash on June 7, 2018.
Officer Michael Michalski, a 17-year veteran of the Milwaukee police force, was killed in a gun battle with a wanted felon on July 25, 2018.
Prior to Officer Irvine’s death, the department hadn’t seen a line-of-duty death for 22 years.
Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales was out of town when the officer was killed.
His assistant chief told reporters the chief jumped on a plane as soon as he heard the news and was on his way home.