Milwaukee police shootings leave two people wounded as officers sought to disperse crowd
Milwaukee's new policy to speed up the release of police bodycam footage is set to come into play after Friday night's incident on the city's south side when two police officers were involved in separate shootings that left two people wounded.
Police were attempting to disperse a crowd that had gathered late on Cinco de Mayo. Security-camera footage from a nearby business showed a chaotic scene as a large crowd raced away from an apparent disturbance.
The near simultaneous shootings took place around 11 p.m. in the vicinity of the 1200 block of South Cesar Chávez Drive, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said.
"Several officers were already deployed to the area due to a large crowd that was engaged in reckless behavior," Norman told reporters. "Officers were trying to disperse the crowd and several individuals started firing shots in the vicinity."
Norman described the suspects' gunshots as "celebratory." No other injuries were reported by police.
He said video from both incidents "will be released according to the new policy."
Last month, Milwaukee’s police oversight board approved the new policy that requires the release of footage of fatal police shootings and other similar incidents to be released publicly after 15 days.
The policy also allows family of those hurt or killed by police the opportunity to view footage within 48 hours. It does not give police any chance at extending either deadline.
Police said in one incident, an officer encountered a 22-year-old Greenfield man who was armed and firing shots on the 1200 block of South 15th Place. The officer gave the man several commands to drop the gun before firing his gun at the man. A handgun was recovered, police said.
The wounded man was taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-fatal injuries.
Police said the officer involved in the shooting is a 33-year-old man with more than seven years of service.
The Milwaukee Police Department Homicide Unit will investigate the shooting because the injury to the suspect was not life-threatening.
At around the same time as the first shooting, another officer encountered an armed suspect firing shots on the 1200 block of South Cesar Chávez Drive, police said. After giving the suspect, a 17-year-old Milwaukee male, several commands to stop, the officer fired his weapon several times striking the person, whose handgun was recovered at the scene, police said.
The suspect was taken to a local hospital for treatment of serious injuries.
The officer involved in the second shooting is a 40-year-old man with more than seven years of service.
The Milwaukee Area Investigative Team will investigate the second incident because it was initially believed the suspect’s injuries were life-threatening. Milwaukee police said the suspect was in stable condition. The Wauwatosa Police Department will be the lead law enforcement agency in this investigation.
"There are no other reported injuries," Norman told reporters. "But firing celebratory gunfire for any event is unacceptable. When these incidents occurred, several firearms were discharged in the vicinity including full-automatic firearms. I'm thankful no other officers were injured in this incident."
Both officers were placed on administrative leave, which is routine in officer-involved shootings, police said.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee police shootings leave two people wounded on city's south side
