Milwaukee police release footage of Dec. 7 officer shooting; expert considers it justified

A Milwaukee police shooting that injured two men in December is still under review by prosecutors, but a policing expert who viewed limited and edited footage of the incident believes the use of deadly force was justified.

On Monday, the Milwaukee Police Department released limited footage of the Dec. 7 incident, which, in a span of five minutes, involved a car chase, a crash and a foot pursuit before culminating in multiple officers opening fire on two men, one of whom was seen carrying a gun.

Police attempted to stop their vehicle around 3:15 that morning at North 91st Street and West Silver Spring Drive because it was wanted in connection to a shooting that injured a 20-year-old man the day before. The crash occurred near West Hampton Avenue and North 68th Street after hitting stop sticks.

Law enforcement hadn't previously detailed how officers came to shoot at the two men. The footage released Monday, which is available on YouTube and is accompanied by police narration, shows officers chasing the men into a backyard, where they then tried climbing through thick brush while officers demanded they stop and drop a gun.

Officers appeared to open fire when at least one suspect had his back turned to officers.

Patrick Solar, an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and a former Illinois police chief, said the shooting was justified. He cited the combination of the suspect vehicle’s connection to a violent crime, the car chase and the men fleeing with a gun.

“We don’t know that the individual turned and pointed the weapon at the officer,” Solar said after viewing the footage. “He was still armed and he was a flight risk and he was (connected to a felony), presenting a threat not just to officers but to other people. The use of force was fine.”

Solar said the deadly force wouldn't have been justified if one of the men had dropped the gun.

“I see absolutely no problem here,” he said. “They can’t allow an individual like this to escape.”

The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office is still reviewing the matter for potential charges. The investigation into the incident was led by the Waukesha Police Department.

In the meantime, two officers, a 26-year-old man with eight years of experience and a 27-year-old man with two years of experience, have been placed on administrative duty, a routine practice for police shootings.

The Police Department said the shooting resulted in critical injuries to 19-year-old Kenneth D. Rogers and minor injuries to 22-year-old Kenneth D. Brown, both of Milwaukee. The two have since been charged with a combined total of 12 felonies. The criminal complaint alleges Rogers carried a gun with him after running from the crashed vehicle.

Brown’s charges also cover the nonfatal shooting from the day before the police encounter, on the 400 block of North 29th Street, where a 20-year-old was shot in the thigh. The incident was caught on surveillance video.

Prosecutors connected Brown to that incident because the car involved in the police chase, the clothing Brown wore when he was arrested and the gun recovered afterward were a match with the shooting the day before, according to a criminal complaint.

Brown is in custody at the Milwaukee County Jail with cash bail set at $75,000, according to online records. He has pleaded not guilty.

Rogers is in custody but remains hospitalized, with a signature bond set at $25,000. He hasn't entered a plea.

Attorneys for both men didn't immediately return a request for comment Tuesday.

Contact Elliot Hughes at elliot.hughes@jrn.com or 414-704-8958. Follow him on X at @elliothughes12.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee police release footage of Dec. 7 officer shooting