MILWAUKEE — Following the ambush and killing of Officer Kendall Corder, the Milwaukee Police Department has had six line-of-duty deaths in the last seven years.
TMJ4’s Lighthouse team spent hours searching the Officer Down Memorial Page website to find out how that compares to other law enforcement agencies across the country. The organization tracks every fallen officer in the United States.
Lighthouse found only Chicago P.D., New York City P.D., Detroit P.D., and the Illinois State Police have had more non-illness-related line-of-duty deaths than Milwaukee since 2018.
It’s a troubling statistic for retired Milwaukee police detective Ricky Burems.
“When you first heard that, what went through your mind?” reporter Ben Jordan asked.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Burems replied.
Watch: Milwaukee P.D. has 5th most line-of-duty deaths in the country since 2018, according to fallen officer data
According to an analysis of the Officer Down Memorial Page, M.P.D. is tied for fifth among all law enforcement agencies in the country in terms of fallen officers over the past seven years. It’s important to note, Milwaukee isn’t even one of the 30 most populous cities in the U.S.
"That relationship between the police and the citizens, it has to improve,” Burems said.
Burems believes societal issues unique to Milwaukee are a big reason why.
“Milwaukee is a city that it’s one of the worst places for Black people to live,” he said. “It’s high in students not graduating, it’s high in unemployment, it’s high in family issues, so there are people on our streets who are very angry and very frustrated.”
Burems says far too often, people are resolving conflict with violence.
Lighthouse took the findings to the Milwaukee Police Association.
“I’m appalled,” said union president Alex Ayala. “We’re not a Chicago, we’re not a New York.”
Ayala believes a lack of officers, training, and equipment is to blame.
“We didn’t have this before,” he said. “We didn’t have an officer death for about 22 years and then all of a sudden, since 2018 it’s just been one after another and it’s just a shame.”
Ayala and Burems hope Officer Corder’s death sparks a push for more MPD resources and a renewed respect for the dangers officers face.
“Most officers would gladly put themselves in harm’s way to save a citizen or to nullify a dangerous situation,” Burems said. “Let’s take this seriously, let’s get further down on that list, let’s not be number 5.”
The mother of fallen officer Peter Jerving tells TMJ4 she thought her son would be safe when he joined the force. She believes the answer is holding convicted criminals accountable in court with tougher sentences.
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