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Girlfriend shares her version of police shooting
A Milwaukee police officer shot and killed a man during a police chase on Thursday. His girlfriend was with him when it happened. She spoke to FOX6.
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee police officer shot and killed a man during a police chase on Thursday. His girlfriend was with him when it happened, and she spoke to FOX6 News about the experience.
Police shooting
The backstory:
MPD Chief Jeffrey Norman said officers and a Wisconsin Department of Corrections agent encountered a wanted suspect, whose family later identified him as 35-year-old Jonathan Otto, in a flatbed truck near 12th and Burnham.
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An officer ordered Otto out of the vehicle, but Norman said the suspect refused. The suspect sped away when the officer tried to remove the suspect from the vehicle, fleeing as the officer held onto the driver's door.
Norman said the officer shot Otto, who ignored repeated commands to pull over, ending the chase near 15th and Grant. Otto died. A passenger was not injured but was taken to a hospital as a precaution.
Milwaukee police officer shoots, kills wanted suspect during chase
A Milwaukee police officer shot and killed a wanted suspect, who drove off from an attempted arrest with that officer holding onto the vehicle, on the city's south side Thursday, March 12.
Girlfriend a witness
What they're saying:
Emily Hernandez, Otto's girlfriend, was the passenger in the truck when it all unfolded. She said Otto picked her up on his lunch break, and they were together when an officer came up to the truck.
"It keeps replaying over and over and over in my head," she said.
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While police said Otto refused commands to get out of the truck before he sped away, Hernandez said she did not hear any commands – only the officer saying Otto's name.
"All we hear is ‘Mr. Otto,’ and this officer jumped on the tow truck," she said.
Jonathan Otto (photo provided by family)
Hernandez said Otto did drive away, and she told him multiple times to stop. She also said he pulled over twice, but the officer never let go of the door and never got off of the truck.
"He could have took out his taser, he could have tased him," she said. "He could have shot him anywhere else, anywhere else. He shoots him right in the head."
MPA president's take
What they're saying:
"He was never given the opportunity to get off by stopping," said Alex Ayala, president of the Milwaukee Police Association.
Ayala said it's his understanding that Otto never stopped the truck and the officer was unable to safely get off. He said the officer feared for his life and did what he was trained to do.
"There's only one way to use lethal force," he said. "We don't shoot people in the leg, we don't shoot people in the arm, you shoot to stop the threat. And that's what the officer did."
Investigation underway
What's next:
Hernandez said she would like to see the officer arrested. Ayala believes the officer will be cleared.
The officer has been placed on administrative duty, which is routine. The Milwaukee Area Investigative Team will investigate the shooting, with the West Allis Police Department serving as the lead agency.
Per MPD policy, body-worn camera video from the shooting will be released to the public before the end of the month.
Editor's note: This story was updated to add more information.
The Source: FOX6 News interviewed Hernandez and Ayala and referenced prior coverage of the shooting.