WAUWATOSA- A 17-year-old man from Milwaukee is recovering after he was shot by Wauwatosa Police Tuesday night after an attempted traffic stop.
Police Chief James MacGillis today said officers spotted the vehicle, which was reported stolen in the City of Milwaukee, near North 92nd and Marion around 10:50 Tuesday night. He says the driver pulled the vehicle into an ally east of 92nd Street and when officers approached, the man behind the wheel got out of the car armed with a gun and approached police.
“Officers gave commands to drop the gun, however he failed to comply with commands and began running towards officers,” MacGillis said.
Two officers fired their weapons, striking the subject. MacGillis identified the two officers involved as a 34-year-old male with eight years of experience and a 30 year-old male with five years of experience. MacGillis says neither of them were injured. Both have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
After the shooting MacGillis said officers learned that the vehicle, which had been reported stolen, had since been recovered by the family and that the man driving the car was either the vehicles owner, or related to the owners.
“It’s an unfortunate circumstance but again, I have to ask the question, why does a 17 year old have a firearm in his possession or feel the need to go armed,” Macgillis said. “It’s a terrible set of circumstances but I’m just glad everybody is alive today.”
Officer body cams were on and operational at the time of the shooting. Those videos are expected to be released in the coming days.
The Milwaukee Police Department is leading the investigation into the shooting.
