Milwaukee Police Officer Killed While Chasing Suspect

Peter E. Jerving. Photo from the Milwaukee Police Department.

Milwaukee Police Department Peter Jerving officer was shot and killed on the city’s South Side while working to apprehend a robbery suspect. The 19-year-old suspect is also dead.

”Milwaukee, our hearts are heavy. The Milwaukee Police Department’s hearts are heavy. My heart is heavy,” said Police Chief Jeffrey Norman at a press conference Tuesday morning.

Jerving had worked for the department for four years. In 2022 he was given a lifesaving award for his aid after coming upon a vehicle that had crashed after the driver was shot.

According to Norman, two officers responded to a residence on the 2700 block of S. 14th St. at approximately 1 a.m. The suspect was wanted for an 11 p.m. robbery that occurred near N. 37th St. and W. Good Hope Rd.

”Upon arrival officers located the suspect, who ignored their commands and fled on foot. One of the officers was able to catch up to the suspect and a struggle ensued. During the struggle, the suspect used a handgun and fired shots striking the other officer. That officer discharged his firearm and, during the exchange, the suspect was struck,” said Norman.

The officer was transported to Froedtert Hospital with life-threatening injuries before dying. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. Both were males.

“This is a fluid and ongoing investigation,” said Norman. The Brookfield Police Department will now lead the investigation. In Wisconsin investigations involving officer-involved shootings are handled by outside agencies.

“Officer Peter Jerving loved and dedicated his life to serving the great people of our city. To his last breath, Peter fulfilled that goal. Milwaukee has lost one of its finest young officers. He will be greatly missed by his mother, father, brothers and sisters, other family members, as well as his many wonderful friends and his comrade brothers and sisters of the Milwaukee police, firefighter and rescue community,” said Jerving’s family in a statement.

Terrell Thompson. Photo provided by Milwaukee Police Department.

The suspect was Terrell L. Thompson. The 19-year-old was given a suspended sentence Monday, the morning of the alleged robbery and hours before the shooting, by Judge Christopher Dee for a January 2021 hit-and-run of an occupied vehicle.

Thompson was given a four-month suspended sentence in the Community Reintegration Center (formerly House of Correction) with a stay for a year of probation for the misdemeanor offense. A second hit-and-run charge from July 2021 was dismissed. A criminal charge like robbery would have violated Thompson’s probation and invoked the four-month incarceration.

In January 2022 Thompson was subject to a short-term restraining order for harassment and told Judge William Pocan that he did not own a firearm. The petition said that Thompson was sending the woman photos of a gun he had and threatening to kill her. A request for a longer restraining order was denied given the nonappearance of the petitioner.

”To the men and women of the Milwaukee Police Department, I see you. I am proud of you. The work you do does not go unnoticed,” said Norman. “And at at this time the city needs you. This is the time to lean in and do the work that needs to be done in our community. The violence needs to stop. Every one of us has a role in community safety.”

”It’s on all of us to make our city safe,” said Mayor Cavalier Johnson. He said the individual, given his age, was likely hanging out on someone’s couch. “Somebody knows that they are out doing things. We need you to speak up… There are no excuses for this.”

”We can do better. We deserve better. And it’s up to us,” said Common Council Jose G. Perez, who lives a few blocks from the scene.

“This whole community owes a debt of gratitude to that officer, to his partner, to the whole department for keeping our city safe,” said the mayor.

”We lost a public servant who give his life to preserve peace in his community,” said Milwaukee Police Association President Andrew Wagner.

The individual is the first police officer to die while on duty since 2019.

On Feb. 6, 2019, Matthew Rittner was shot and killed while personnel attempted to serve a no-knock warrant. Two officers were killed in 2018, Charles Irvine, Jr. in a high-speed chase and Michael Michalski was shot and killed while trying to arrest a suspect. Mark Lentz died in 2019 as a result of injuries he suffered in 2017 during a traffic stop in which he was intentionally struck. According to the Milwaukee Police Historical Society, no other officers died while on duty since 1996.