Two MPD officers to receive honors for heroic actions while off duty

Two Milwaukee police officers will be honored at City Hall Thursday (September 1) for their actions to help save a boy from the Menomonee River in July while they were attending a tailgate party in a Miller Park parking lot.

Detective Alexander Ayala and Officer Jose Acevedo – both assigned to MPD’s District Two on the near south side – will be honored prior to the start of the full meeting of the Common Council at 9 a.m. Thursday in the third floor Council Chamber at City Hall, 200 E. Wells St.

Detective Ayala, president of the Milwaukee chapter of the National Latino Peace Officers Association (NLPOA), and Officer Acevedo, the community liaison officer for District Two and vice president of the Milwaukee chapter of the NLPOA, were off-duty on July 26 and attending a tailgate at Miller Park when a woman yelled that a six-year-old boy with autism had wandered away from his father and was in the Menomonee River near a pedestrian bridge. The officers rushed to the scene and saw the boy struggling to stay above the water. They brought the boy to safely on shore, where he was reunited with his parents and no medical attention was required.

Alderman José G. Pérez, whose 12th Aldermanic District includes District Two, said he looks forward to presenting the officers with commendatory resolutions from the Common Council.

“The selfless actions of Detective Ayala and Officer Acevedo speak volumes about their sense of duty and their caring about the wellbeing of their fellow citizens,” Alderman Pérez said.

“They helped to prevent a potentially dangerous situation and demonstrated that even when off-duty, Milwaukee’s law enforcement officers are always there to serve and protect the community,” the alderman said.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.