Police: Suspect grabbed officer's baton, officer opened fire

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn says a suspect is dead, and a Milwaukee police officer was injured following an officer-involved shooting that happened at Red Arrow Park in downtown Milwaukee.

It all started around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 30th, when a foot patrol officer on his beat learned of "trouble with a suspect" in Red Arrow Park.

Chief Flynn says the officer encountered the suspect laying on the ground. A witness tells police the officer helped him to his feet -- and was attempting to conduct a field interview.

Chief Flynn says the officer was patting the suspect down when a struggle ensued. The officer withdrew his wooden baton to defend himself, and Chief Flynn says the suspect took the officer's baton from him and began striking him in the head.

That's when the officer withdrew his service weapon -- a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson -- and fired "several shots" at the man -- striking him several times, ultimately causing his death.

Milwaukee Fire officials responded to the scene and pronounced the suspect dead on scene.



The officer in this case is 38 years old, and has 13 years of experience with MPD. He was taken to Froedtert Hospital for treatment of head injuries. He has since been released.

The suspect in this case is unidentified, according to police.

"He's not someone people know from the area. That may be one of the reasons we got the call," Chief Flynn said.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett says he heard the gunshots.

"I heard the gunshots, and remarked 'that sounded like gunshots.' It was very rapid fire," Mayor Barrett said.

As this investigation continues, Chief Flynn says police will be taking inventory of surveillance cameras in the area to see if video of the incident is available.

Chief Flynn says officers will be interviewing witnesses -- and there are many of them, as Red Arrow Park sits next to Milwaukee's City Hall, on one of the city's busiest blocks.

The state's Department of Criminal Investigation has been called in to the scene -- and is the lead agency in this case.

"They designate a lead officer whose responsibilities are defined by statute and we continue to interview eyewitnesses, we continue to process the crime scene as we always would," Chief Flynn said.

This is the first officer-involved shooting incident since Gov. Scott Walker signed legislation into law that requires officer-involved shootings be investigated by an outside agency.

"We don't find it at all burdensome -- or adding a level of complexity. The DCI people are with us observing, asking questions, making suggestions and certainly will be able to be present at any interviews we conduct," Chief Flynn said.

Also on scene Wednesday afternoon were Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the Fire and Police Commission and MPD's Major Crimes Unit.

Chief Flynn says investigators hope to speak with the officer involved, to get the officer's version of the events that occurred. They were waiting for him to be medically cleared.

Chief Flynn was asked during a news conference how many shots were fired at the suspect -- as a witness has indicated it could be between five and 10 shots.

Chief Flynn said, "10 sounds more like it, but I didn't count the shell casings."

It is unclear if all of those shots hit the suspect.