Shots fired at Milwaukee officer, man sentenced to probation
Montrael Young
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man accused of firing shots at a police officer in 2021 was sentenced Wednesday, June 14.
Montrael Young, 33, was initially charged with first-degree recklessly endangering safety – but pleaded guilty to intentionally pointing a firearm at a law enforcement officer. He was given three years' probation.
According to a criminal complaint, a plainclothes Milwaukee police officer was in his unmarked squad – headed back to the Police Administration Building – after leaving a shooting scene on June 12, 2021. The officer saw a car speeding down 35th Street toward North Avenue that passed his squad in the parking lane. The complaint states the driver "disregarded the red traffic light and collided into a minivan." Moments later, the car fled the scene.
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The officer decided to search for the striking vehicle as it was leaking fluids and had front-end damage. Near 39th and Garfield, the complaint states the officer "heard two gunshots in close proximity to his location." He immediately slowed down and "began to scan the immediate area to determine where the gunshots came from." The officer spotted a man with "shoulder-length dreadlocks emerge" from a parked vehicle. Moments later, the officer spotted the same person standing in the doorway of an apartment complex "armed with a gun in his right hand."
The complaint states the officer "locked eyes for approximately 1-2 seconds with the subject as he was looking over his right shoulder, looking out the rear passenger window directly at the subject." That's when the officer "observed the subject raise the firearm in his right hand and discharge the firearm once in his direction." After the shot was fired, the subject retreated into an apartment. Other officers were dispatched to the area.
Milwaukee Police Administration Building
Per the complaint, officers visited multiple apartments – and eventually found the subject who the initial officer "identified" as the "subject that was armed with the gun and shot at him." During a search of the apartment, officers located ammunition, spent casings, cartridges, and multiple handguns.
When questioned by investigators, Young "gave several various versions of events which included someone firing at him first and another version about seeing a suspicious SUV." In another version, he "stated that there were just 3 shots fired during this incident and that he fired two of the shots." He also said he was "only shooting to protect himself and his family" and admitted to drinking that night.