Milwaukee police shootings; reevaluating domestic violence, fight response

MILWAUKEE - In the span of less than two weeks, three local police officers were shot while responding to calls about fights and domestic violence.

Now, the Milwaukee Police Association union said it is rethinking how officers respond.

Officers at risk

What they're saying:

When officers pull up to a scene, there is always a risk.

MPA President Alexander Ayala said after active shooter calls, the most dangerous for law enforcement are domestic violence calls.

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"We've seen it happen when officers respond to domestic violence calls, and get shot at or get shot," Ayala said. "When officers respond to these calls, you have a lot more feelings, and anger and violence that happens in these calls."

Recent police shootings

The backstory:

On Thursday, June 26, Milwaukee police officer Kendall Corder was shot and killed while responding to a call about fights between groups of women and allegations of cheating. Fellow officer Christopher McCray was also shot, but survived his injuries.

One week later, on Thursday, July 3, a Shorewood officer was shot while responding to a domestic violence call. He survived.

Police say a woman was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend, who police then shot and killed.

Heightened emotions

Local perspective:

President of the Sojourner Family Peace Center, Carmen Pitre, said these shootings do fall under the domestic violence category.

Pitre said domestic violence calls already have heightened emotions. So, when the police arrive, it can get even more intense.

"It involves people who are intimately involved," Pitre said. "These are also private matters that become public in a pretty significant way when officers get on the scene."

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In these most recent shootings, shots were fired as officers got on scene.

The MPA is now reevaluating officer training for approaching domestic calls.

"Make sure you’re approaching from the side of the block, or half a block away, or just opposite the address you’re going to and tactically walking to the address you were called for so we can avoid these kind of incidents," Ayala said.  

How you can help

What you can do:

If you are looking for a way to help the families of the officers, you can donate to MPA Fallen Heroes, Inc. According to the website, every dollar offers immediate emergency aid for injured officers and supports long-term recovery for officers and their families.

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