Armed suspect shot, killed by Milwaukee police on city's north side

MILWAUKEE (WITI) --  39-year-old Donnell Carter was shot and killed by two Milwaukee police officers when he refused to drop a semi-automatic handgun early Thursday morning, June 20th near Sherman and Burleigh.

According to police, officers were investigating a disturbance in the parking lot of a gas station near Sherman and Burleigh just before 2 a.m. when they heard shots fired just east of their location.

Kelly Krachtt, who called police, said the gas station disturbance was a fight between a couple. When dealing with this couple, police heard shots fired just east of their location.

The officers moved on foot to investigate and confronted the suspect, later identified as Carter, on the street in the 4200 block of W. Burleigh.  Carter, who was armed with a semi-automatic handgun, refused to comply with the officers verbal demands to drop the gun.  Fearing for their safety, the officers discharged their handguns to stop the threat, striking Carter.



Carter was conveyed to the hospital, where he later died.

Ulysees Carter is Carter's uncle, who says he saw Carter the night before the incident. He says Carter's family is questioning the amount of shots fired, based on what they've heard of the incident.

"Once that officer shot him, he went down. Gun is out of his possession. Why would a second officer need to come and finish him off? The one the first one did is good enough," Ulysees Carter said.

Carter's family says he leaves behind a big family -- including many children and a fiance. His family says he would not have jeopardized his probation or his family.

"He teach me right from wrong, and I love my daddy because I'm my daddy baby. I'm his teddy bear," Diane Carter, Carter's 13-year-old daughter said.

According to police, Carter has a lengthy arrest record with the dating back to 1989.  Carter was released from federal custody in 2012 after serving 10 years for a drug trafficking charge and was on federal supervision at the time of this incident.

The officers involved are a 27-year-old male with five years of service and a 31-year-old male with six years of service.  Both are assigned to District 7.

As is standard operating procedure, the incident is under investigation by the Milwaukee Police Department and the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.  Additionally, per procedure, the officers involved in the incident have been placed on administrative duty pending the completion of the investigation.