Milwaukee police officer shot during welfare check released from hospital; suspected gunman's past court cases draw focus back to low bail.
A Milwaukee police officer hospitalized after a shooting.
A suspected gunman with three open felony cases who posted $3,000 bail and then did not show up for a plea hearing, resulting in an open warrant for his arrest.
And another entry in the debate over bail in Wisconsin, which has been raging ever since the Waukesha Christmas Parade tragedy when the suspect was free on $1,000 bail in a felony domestic violence case.
The shooting of the 26-year-old officer is the second time this month that an officer has come under fire from a suspected gunman who has open court cases.
The officer, Herbert Davis III, was released Friday afternoon from Froedtert Hospital, where he was greeted by dozens of family members and fellow officers from the Milwaukee Police Department.
“I thank everyone, all my brothers and sisters, for the love and support that I’ve been given today," Davis said.
Davis has seven years with the department, five of them as an officer. He worked as a police aide before that in the technical communications division. The officer repeatedly thanked the people who had helped him Thursday after he was shot, saying he wished he knew their names.
“I’m so thankful and grateful to them," Davis said, appearing emotional in response to reporters' questions.
"You’re not going to make me cry — you’re not going to do it — but it means a lot and to know that, the citizens love us too, and as much as we help the community, they’ll help us as well," he said. "It really means a lot.”
The shooting happened when the officer had been dispatched to check on a man who was slumped over in a car on St. Paul Avenue, near North 21st Street, about 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
During the welfare check, the man who had been in the car pulled a gun and shot at the officer, who then returned fire and wounded the man, Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said Thursday.
As the man stole the officer's squad car and drove away, nearby bystanders helped the officer until Milwaukee Fire Department paramedics arrived — and the help was greatly appreciated by the officer, Norman said.
The man fled in the squad car and crashed into another driver at West Clybourn and North 17th streets and ran from the scene before being arrested about a half block away, police said.
The man's gun was found inside the squad car, according to investigators. The other driver involved in the crash on Marquette University's campus was taken to a hospital for injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening.
The officer and the suspect were both taken to the hospital for treatment of their injuries, and police expect to refer charges against the suspect to prosecutors in the coming days.
"Heroic is the first word that comes to mind," said Andrew Wagner, president of the Milwaukee Police Association, of the officer.
"This is an officer who was by himself, he went and tried to check on somebody who was in medical distress to see how the guy was doing," Wagner said. "He was not playing a law enforcement role but a caretaker role, but this is the response this violent criminal had."
Suspect has past criminal record, history of substance abuse
The suspected gunman is Jetrin J. Rodthong, according to two law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation.
The Journal Sentinel typically does not identify suspects who have not been charged with a crime but has done so in high-profile cases, such as the Waukesha Christmas Parade tragedy.
Rodthong, 22, stacked up three felony cases in 2020, all of which remain open and had various delays because of COVID-19 issues and Rodthong's failure to appear, court records show.
Much of his legal trouble stemmed from his substance abuse and bipolar disorder, conditions which were aggravated by the separation of his parents 10 years ago, said his sister, Linda Rodthong, in an interview.
Her brother, who dropped out of school after eighth grade, has refused help from family and has not surrounded himself with people who have his best interests in mind, she said.
"He knows he has problems," she said. "He didn’t want the help.”
He showed improved behavior during his nine-month stay in the county jail, which continued for a time after he posted bail, she said.
"I made sure he went to court," she said. "It went good for about a month or two and then he went to hanging with the same old friends he had and he got into trouble again."
Still, his sister said she was "shocked" by what her brother is accused of doing.
Other court cases involve fleeing, stolen cars
On March 19, 2020, he was charged with felony fleeing after Milwaukee police officers tried to pull over a driver who was speeding and ignoring stop signs in a stolen car.
The driver fled and police chased the car for more than four miles as the driver ignored two red lights and drove into oncoming traffic on the city's north side. The car eventually crashed against a curb at North 29th Street and West Meinecke Avenue, according to a criminal complaint.
The driver got out of the car. Officers ordered the man, later identified as Rodthong, to the ground at gunpoint and found two ecstasy pills on him during the arrest, the complaint says.
Court commissioner Rosa Barillas gave him a $500 signature bond. A signature bond is a promise to appear for court proceedings, usually with a monetary penalty if an individual fails to show up. In this case, the penalty is $500.
Rodthong's preliminary hearing was postponed several times and he failed to appear for the hearing on Aug. 5, 2020. That was two days after he had been arrested after police found him in a stolen car with more than 30 car keys, a window punch and other items typically used to steal cars, court records show.
He was charged Aug. 7 with operating a car without an owner's consent, felony bail jumping and misdemeanor resisting arrest. Commissioner Alexis Liggins set bail at $300, which he posted Aug. 17.
Three days after posting that bail, Rodthong missed another court appearance and the day after that, he ran into legal trouble again.
Police found Rodthong with a stolen car and he led them on a chase and hit another vehicle, according to the criminal complaint charging him with five felonies.
He had been doing maintenance work on the car when officers approached him and realized the car was stolen, the complaints says.
Rodthong jumped inside the car and an officer tried forcing him out, using a baton to smash the window of the driver's door before taking "evasive action" to avoid the car as it sped away, according to the complaint.
He crashed the car and was arrested with heroin found hidden inside his sock, court records show.
This time, Liggins set Rodthong's cash bail at $3,000, which he did not post for more than nine months.
After posting bail in June 2021, he attended several of his court hearings after that but failed to appear for two of them in early October, after which a bench warrant was issued for his arrest, according to online court records.
Under state law, cash bail can only be used to help ensure someone reappears in court. Public safety can only be considered when setting other bail conditions such as no-contact orders, not the cash amount.
Third shooting of a law enforcement officer in Milwaukee this month
The shooting was the third time this month that a law enforcement officer has been shot in Milwaukee.
About an hour before the Milwaukee officer was shot on St. Paul Avenue, a Milwaukee County sheriff's deputy was released from the hospital after being treated for an on-duty shooting.
Deputy Christian Almonte, 26, had been shot by a 19-year-old man early Wednesday during a search for two other men who fled a traffic stop near West Adler and South 68th streets. The suspected gunman then killed himself, authorities said.
Earlier this month, an off-duty Milwaukee police detective was shot and injured when he intervened in an attempted carjacking in the city's Third Ward. Detective Andrew Wilkiewicz was treated for his injuries and has since been released from the hospital.
Three people have been charged in that shooting and two are in custody. The suspected shooter, Keasean J. Ellis-Brown, who has been charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide, remains at large and the FBI has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
Ellis-Brown and another man charged in the case, Dionta'e Hayes, were out on bail in separate cases at the time of the Third Ward shooting.
Contact Ashley Luthern at ashley.luthern@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @aluthern.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee officer shot, released from hospital; suspect's bail a focus
