This is a sad day in the City of Milwaukee. It is sad for the family of Police Officer Peter Jerving plus his police family. This morning there was a robbery in District four on the northside of the city. Eventually the suspect was located on the southside and officers engaged in a foot pursuit. Officer Jerving caught up with the 19-year old suspect and a struggle ensued. The suspect pulled a gun and shot the officer who returned fire hitting the suspect. The wounded officer was rushed to the hospital where he later died from his injuries. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. The city, it’s officials, plus county, state and federal(FBI) all are offering their condolences. This is the first officer killed in the line of duty since Police Officer Matthew Rittner, who was shot at a search warrant in February 2019. 2018 was also a bad year for MPD with two officers dying in the line of duty, one in a car accident and the other being shot.
The 19-year-old suspect in this incident was just in court on Monday, where a judge sentenced him in two hit-and-run crashes from 2021. The judge gave him 12 months’ probation and released him. During a news conference Chief Jeffrey Norman stated, ”Milwaukee, our hearts are heavy. Milwaukee Police Department hearts are heavy. My heart is heavy. One of our finest who put on that uniform, put on that badge, went to work last night and paid the ultimate price for protecting our community. Milwaukee, we need your prayers. We need your support. The violence needs to stop. The violence needs to stop.” Mayor Johnson stated, “officers put their badge and boots on everyday to protect this city. The city owes a debt of gratitude for this. It’s on all of us to make the city is safe. Keep an eye on those who would commit violence. These folks are probably getting up from someone’s couch and you know who they are. Hold them to account if you know they are doing bad out there.”
At a later news conference the Chief said,” reach out and support each other to his officers. He continued,” I want to thank the Milwaukee community for the outpouring of love that we have received”. The Mayor also added, “we will remember his name and honor him. He came to work everyday knowing the challenges to serve this community. The entire city is sad today. He was protecting all of us who work and live here. “
This is the life and reality of being a police officer. Everyday when you go to work you don’t know if it will be your last day. You say good bye to your love ones and head out to the job. When you are at roll call getting ready for the streets, you think about your training and how you may react if something happens. You are trained to always watch the hands of people that you confront. That’s why officers are always saying take your hands out of your pocket or show me your hands. Sadly, this is not like in the movies. What do I mean about that? As an officer you cannot have a tie. If you have your firearm out and he pulls out a firearm it’s a bad situation. Someone is going to be badly injured or die. So as you see a tie can be very deadly.
The next time you see an officer on the street thank them for their service and helping to keep the city safe each day.