Driver Shot Dead After Officer Clings To Moving Truck On South Side Street

The Milwaukee Police Administration building Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Milwaukee, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

A Milwaukee police officer shot and killed a 35-year-old man after police say the man drove away while the officer was clinging to the side of his truck.

In a press briefing, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said the incident happened around 10 a.m. Thursday in the 1900 block of South 12th Street. The suspect was wanted on a parole violation and had a passenger in the vehicle.

Norman said the suspect drove his truck for several blocks with the officer hanging onto the driver-side window, ignoring multiple commands to stop even after the officer “inform(ed) the suspect that if he did not stop, he (the officer) would shoot.”

Norman called it a “totally preventable incident” that endangered the officer, the passenger in the truck and the driver himself.

“There is a time and place, when you have a disagreement with law enforcement, to be able to have your day in court,” Norman said. “The court is not on the streets. There is a responsibility to cooperate.”

The suspect died in the shooting. The officer was treated for minor injuries. The passenger in the truck was uninjured but received medical treatment “out of an abundance of caution,” Norman said.

The officer who shot the man was 46 years old with 21 years of police service.

Police did not release the names of the suspect or the officer. The West Allis Police Department will lead an investigation into the shooting.

Milwaukee police officer shoots suspect who drove away as officer clung to vehicle was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.