MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn visited Officer Brandon Baranowski at the hospital on Tuesday, July 19th -- and presented him with MPD's Purple Valor Award.
Baranowski was seated in a squad car near 17th and Morgan on the city's south side early Sunday when a suspect approached on foot and fired a gun several times into the squad, striking the officer several times.
MPD officer shot, wounded near 17th and Morgan
"I do believe this was an ambush. Again, it was not an ambush in the sense of Baton Rouge, but the officer was sitting in his squad and was shot. That, to me, is an ambush. He was ambushed," Mayor Tom Barrett said in a news conference on Sunday.
As officers were on scene investigating regarding the injured officer, they heard a single gun shot around 2:30 a.m. nearby. They then found a man who had suffered an apparent self-inflicted fatal gunshot wound to the head. That man was later identified as 20-year-old Tomas Uriegas.
Since this incident, the Milwaukee Police Department is sending out officers in two-person squad units. It's not clear how long this policy will remain. But some are calling for it to be permanent.
MPD officer shot, wounded near 17th and Morgan
Below is a joint statement from the Milwaukee Common Council related to this incident: