MILWAUKEE — In one day, three police officers at southeast Wisconsin police departments were shot, shot at, or assaulted.
An off duty-officer with the Milwaukee police department was shot while trying to stop an attempted carjacking on Jan. 13. According to police, a suspect unsuccessfully attempted to steal a car with three children inside. An off-duty detective intervened, said he was an officer, and attempted to detain the suspect. A struggle occurred and that is when the suspect fired multiple shots at the detective, police said. Multiple suspects fled on foot. Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said an 18-year-old male and 17-year-old male were arrested near 30th and Chambers.
The detective sustained life-threatening injuries but is recovering in a local hospital.
A Fond Du Lac police officer was assaulted on Jan. 13. He was talking to a group of people outside an apartment complex when he was approached by a 44-year-old man. Police said that the man suddenly and randomly began assaulting the officer. The officer was taken to the hospital with a broken nose, and the man was arrested.
A West Allis police officer was shot at on Jan. 13, according to police. A suspect shot at the officer after they were pulled over. The officer shot back and the suspect fled. The suspect ran to an apartment in the 1400 block of 116th Street. Police said they set up a perimeter around the apartment when they heard a gunshot. Officers went into the building and found the suspect had died from what officials say was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
In Wisconsin, 14 police officers were injured since 2011, according to FBI data.
Across the country, 59 police officers were killed in the line of duty between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30 of 2021, according to data from the FBI. That's a 51 percent increase from 2020.
Overall, 60,105 police officers were assaulted on the job in 2020. That's 4,000 more reports of assaults than in 2019 which was 56,034.
