12:20 p.m.
Milwaukee’s police chief has identified the officer fatally shot in the line of duty.
Chief Alfonso Morales said at a news conference Thursday afternoon that 52-year-old Michael Michalski, a husband and father of three, was killed Wednesday evening. Officers from the department’s special investigations division had gone to confront a man wanted for violating parole, possessing heroin and domestic-related offenses.
Morales says the man ran into a home, officers followed and were met with gunfire. Officers returned fire, but the suspect was not hit. Officer Michalski was struck in the exchange of gunfire and later died.
The chief says the suspect was arrested after he ran out of ammunition. He’s described as having a lengthy juvenile and adult criminal record.
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11 a.m.
A squad car draped in a black cloth sits outside the Milwaukee Police Administration building as condolences pour into the department over fatal shooting of a 17-year police veteran.
The officer was killed Wednesday evening in an exchange of gunfire with a drug and weapons suspect on the city’s north side. The suspect was arrested and was not injured.
Officers from other agencies reached out to the MPD on social media, with some sharing photos of their badges circled by a black band on Facebook.
Police Chief Alfonso Morales plans to hold a media briefing at noon. The officer has not been publicly identified.
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9:20 a.m.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett says he feels sorrow and anger following the fatal shooting of a 17-year veteran of the city’s police force.
Barrett says his anger is directed at the person who killed the officer Wednesday night. The mayor described the suspect as a drug dealer.
Police have not released the identities of the deceased officer or the suspect.
Speaking on WTMJ radio Thursday, Barrett said he’s sad for the officer’s family and colleagues, and asked that residents find a way to support them as they grieve.
Police Chief Alfonso Morales has said the suspect is in custody and that he was not injured in an exchange of gunfire with officers.
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12:00 a.m.
Milwaukee’s police chief says a 17-year veteran officer was shot and killed while on duty, and a suspect is in custody.
Police Chief Alfonso Morales says the shooting occurred early Wednesday evening, adding that the suspect was wanted on gun and drug violations.
Neither the officer nor the suspect has been identified. Morales says the fallen officer was a friend of his.
Deputy Fire Chief David Votsis said earlier Wednesday that one other person was wounded in the shooting, but Morales later clarified that the suspect was not wounded.
It’s the second Milwaukee police officer to die in the line of duty in nearly two months. Officer Charles “Chuckie” Irvine Jr. was killed after the squad car he was in crashed while in pursuit of a reckless driver.
