A police officer from the Milwaukee Police Department was shot multiple times by an unknown suspect early Sunday morning. The incident occurred around 2 a.m. during an altercation that took place on the south side of the city. The officer is recovering but is still in a critic state. The suspect was later found dead.
The 31-year-old officer was alone in the vehicle when he was shot. The patrol was responding to some domestic violence calls, and while one of the officers went to the check the area, the other one stayed in the vehicle and in that moment he was attacked by a male who approached the car on foot and fired aiming the officer.
What happened with the suspect?
A gunshot was heard nearby the area where the patrol was parked, shortly after the shooting took place. Police officers found a male body of about 20 years old on the ground. The cause of death seemed to be a self-inflicted gunshot in the head.
The investigation is still being executed but, so far, authorities believe the man who shot the officer is the same person that was involved with the domestic violence reports and is the person who was found dead nearby.
Access to the area is restricted until investigators leave the scene.
‘Vicious’ attack
Authorities did not reveal any details about the shooting or how many gunshots did the officer received. However, they described the attack as “vicious,” due to the multiple times the suspect fired.
The identity of the officer was not revealed either because the Milwaukee Police Department decided to keep the information classified to the family and the authorities. Nevertheless, what they did reveal is that the officer had been an active police officer for 13 years. He is currently in the Froedtert Hospital receiving professional treatment. The injuries apparently were not life-threatening, since most shots affected the officer’s arm.
Milwaukee Police officer shot, injured after incident on South Side. Full story here: https://t.co/tx7xVqhIig
— Milwaukee Police (@MilwaukeePolice) July 17, 2016
The danger in the law enforcement career
Law enforcement jobs have always been dangerous since the risk the police officers are exposed to is constant. However, these careers are not at the top of the list curated by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries outlines the most dangerous jobs in America. Police and sheriff’s patrol officers are the number 10 on the list. Being the responsible of executing the primary job making sure that state laws and local ordinances are being obeyed and achieve voluntary compliance with the law from citizens expose the officers to shootings and persecutions.
That is the main reason why police officers must set minimum requirements in order to actually became a police officer. In Milwaukee, the Police Department has about 2,000 police officers active and to become a police officer in that state people must meet certain physical and mental qualifications.
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel