MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee police officer was shot on the city's north side on Tuesday, followed by a tense three-hour-long standoff.
The shooting happened after officers responded to domestic violence at the home near 18th and Fairmount. TMJ4 goes in-depth on the extensive training police go through to prepare for situations like this.
"Just talk to me, what happened today?" the negotiator could be heard saying in a video submitted to TMJ4 News by a viewer.
The neighbor's video is just a glimpse of what negotiations between the Milwaukee Police Department and a 25-year-old looked like on Tuesday. Police say that man was armed and had four children in the house with him.
"We want to hear your side of the story, ok?" the negotiator said. "It involves you keeping yourself safe, you keeping your kids safe. Tell me what's going on."
"Lower the gun, I'll talk to you," the suspect said.
Captain James Hutchinson with the Milwaukee Police Department was a negotiator for many years in Milwaukee. He now oversees the department's crisis negotiator unit, which handles these types of situations.
"The goal of the negotiator is to actively listen to somebody to increase rationality by lowering emotionality over time, to resolve the situation," he said.
"Is the goal of the negotiator to build trust with a subject to figure out how to move forward in a moment of crisis?" TMJ4's Megan Lee asked.
"Absolutely, and that trust is built through actively listening to what they have to say," Hutchinson responded. "If a negotiator were to go into a situation and tell them what they want from the person, they will not have the opportunity to build that trust."
Building that trust can sometimes involve learning more about the person. On Tuesday, the negotiator could be heard saying, "Your mom wants to see you today, tomorrow, and next week. I'm telling you, this is not that big of a deal. Your mom wants to see you every day. Your kids want to see you every day."
Hutchinson says, "If we encounter a mother, or a family member or a loved one. We will talk to that person and I find out what's this person going through. What can we say? What brought them to this situation? That can then prove to them that we do really care about what happened and we want to resolve this safely."
Hutchinson says during negotiations, it can feel like you have someone's life in your hands.
"How important is this to your department?" Lee asked.
Hutchinson responded, "It's hugely important. De-escalation is the way we do business. To resolve situations safely, where everyone goes, or everybody leaves that situation in a safe and healthy manner is our goal on every single incidence."
Tuesday's incident is proof of just how important their training is.
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