Man in jail uniform left alone at Milwaukee hospital following change in orders: Sheriff's Office

MILWAUKEE — A man who was initially meant to be brought to the Milwaukee County Jail was left at a local hospital by suburban police officers.

The man was wearing a jail uniform when he eventually left the hospital by himself, which was a cause for concern for local law enforcement, who didn't know the full situation.

The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office said in a full statement late Tuesday that it all started around 3 p.m., when the man was brought to the Milwaukee County Jail by an unidentified suburban police department. He was in custody for a retail theft warrant in another jurisdiction.

After the man had changed into his jail uniform, law enforcement decided to bring the man to a local hospital "for medical clearance before completing the intake process," according to the Sheriff's Office.

The man was brought to a hospital in the area of 13th and State, where Aurora Sinai Medical Center is located. But from there, the plan appeared to change.

The Sheriff's Office said: "At this time, officials in the jurisdiction that issued the warrant advised that they were no longer seeking the subject’s transfer."

The police officers then left the hospital, leaving the man who had been in their custody. He was still wearing his jail uniform.

The man left the hospital around 5 p.m., still wearing the jail attire. That's when several law enforcement agencies reported his movements out of concern over the jail uniform he was still wearing. That concern was publically expressed by Marquette University police in a tweet around that time.

The Sheriff's Office was specific in their statement that at no time was there a jailbreak.

"At no time during this sequence of events did the subject escape from the jail facility or from any escorting law enforcement officer," according to the office.

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