Fired former detective Rodolfo Gomez makes court appearance

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Former Milwaukee Police Detective Rodolfo Gomez appeared in court on Thursday, December 5th -- one day after he was fired.

Gomez was supposed to enter a plea, but that was pushed back because of other activity in the case.

Gomez was served with his termination papers on Wednesday.

His firing comes after Gomez Jr. was charged with one count of misconduct in public office after he allegedly used excessive force on a suspect during an interrogation.

Gomez, a 12-year veteran of MPD, is accused of striking a suspect during an August interrogation at the Milwaukee Police Administration Building.

According to the criminal complaint, Gomez was assigned to assist with an investigation into the homicide of an infant. During the investigation process, Gomez initiated an interrogation of a suspect.

During the interrogation, the suspect allegedly began yelling at Gomez. Then, Gomez pushed the suspect into the corner of the interrogation room and punched him in the face and upper body multiple times with a closed fist, according to the complaint.

The complaint indicates Gomez is also accused of striking the suspect with his knee.

According to the complaint, Gomez repeatedly told the suspect to stay down and stop resisting. The complaint indicates the suspect, whose left hand was handcuffed, never struck Gomez.

During the altercation another official intervened and separated Gomez and the suspect, according to the complaint.

Following the altercation, Gomez returned to the interview room with two other deputies in order to transport the suspect to a holding cell. During this encounter, Gomez allegedly grabbed the suspect’s face in a forcible manner and delivered another knee strike — according to the complaint.

Gomez made a court appearance in this case on October 31st, during which he posted a $10,000 signature bond in the case.

Gomez is set to stand trial in this case.

This latest charge against Gomez comes after no charges were filed against him in another incident, in which Gomez was investigated for domestic violence.

Gomez was well-known for being involved in many high-profile cases — including investigating the gruesome murder of a pregnant woman by another woman who wanted her unborn child.