Use of deadly force justified: District attorney completes review of officer-involved death of Jermaine Claybrooks

Jermaine Claybrooks



WEST ALLIS -- Two West Allis police detectives were justified in their use of force in the death of Jermaine Claybrooks, which happened March 16th near 19th and Stark, the Milwaukee County district attorney has determined.

West Allis police said in a news release Monday, September 18th Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm completed his review of this case and determined deadly force used by West Allis police detectives was privileged under Wisconsin state statute.

Claybrooks was shot and killed during a joint drug investigation involving West Allis police and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force. According to West Allis police, as officers were trying to take Claybrooks into custody, he pointed a firearm at them, causing them to fear for their lives and the lives of other officers present.

Officer-involved shooting that killed Jermaine Claybrooks



Officer-involved shooting that killed Jermaine Claybrooks



Two West Allis detectives fired in this case -- a man with 25 years of service and a man with 19 years of service. They were identified in the news release as Detective Dan DiTorrice and Detective Todd Kurtz. Claybrooks was shot 10 times, according to a police report

The report says investigators found Claybrooks in his vehicle with a semi-automatic pistol in his right hand, with his finger on the trigger. Other evidence collected from his vehicle included 148 grams of heroin, approximately 70 grams of marijuana, 50 tablets of oxycodone and $30,000.

The Milwaukee County Investigative Team investigated this incident. West Allis police said this team did not include members of the agencies of the involved officers. The lead agency was the Wauwatosa Police Department.

Jermaine Claybrooks



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