The wife of the man shot and killed by Waukesha Police earlier this week wants answers as to why her unarmed husband was killed. As Cher Milakovich sits in a Milwaukee park by her house, the same thought runs over and over in her head.
“I don't know why,” said Cher.
TMJ4 News spoke to Cher on April 9, the morning her husband was shot and killed by police, but she said she wasn't ready to talk on camera. Today, she said she wanted people to know about her husband. She says the 50-year-old was a loving husband, father and uncle.
"I don't have a future now with my husband. That is not fair and that is not right,” said Cher.
Cher admits Christopher Milakovich was not a perfect person. He had been released from jail about a month ago where he had been for violating a restraining order. Cher says they were staying at a Waukesha hotel to have some time away from their family when he went for a walk to smoke in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Waukesha Police say around 2:30 a.m. they were called to the CarMax on Bluermound Road for reports of someone trying to steal a car. Something Cher does not believe her husband was doing.
"This shouldn't have happened this way. He was going for a walk, from the time he left me at 2:18 in the morning to 3:18 in the morning when he passed,” said Cher. “He had no weapon. None. He had a phone, an ID, cigarettes, and a lighter."
According to Waukesha Police, officers approached a person in the car lot and that person did not listen to commands. They say the man made a gesture similar to someone drawing a gun. Officers later said no weapon was found on Christopher. Four officers were placed on administrative leave for the shooting as standard procedure, but Chief Dan Thompson maintains the officers did nothing wrong.
"The whole incident is a tragic incident and unnecessary," said Thompson. "If the suspect would have complied this would not have happened."
“No, if they would have taken different steps this wouldn't have been the tragedy that it is. It wouldn't have been. I wouldn't have been without my husband. My nieces wouldn't have been without their uncle. His daughters would not be without their father. Mom and Dad would not be without their son. Nobody deserves this. That's why we have the justice system,” said Cher.
The Milwaukee Area Investigative Team is investigating if there was any wrongdoing in the shooting. The Milwaukee Police are the lead agency and will turn over their findings from the investigation to the Waukesha County District Attorney's office for review.
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