Officer killed in squad car crash
A Milwaukee police officer died Thursday after the squad he was in crashed on the city’s northwest side during a pursuit of a reckless driver, Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales said.
Another officer was injured in the crash that occurred about 5 p.m. in the 7600 block of West Silver Spring Drive, Morales said at a news conference outside Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa.
Morales identified the officer as 23-year-old Charles Irvine Jr., a four-year veteran of the department.
Irvine was the first Milwaukee officer killed in the line of duty in 22 years.
“This is a very sad day for our community,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said at the news conference.
“The Irvine family is suffering, the entire Milwaukee Police Department is suffering. This underscores how difficult the job of a Milwaukee police officer is.
“Officer Irvine gave his life for the people of this community. He served it because he wanted it to be a better community.”
According to Morales, the officers in the squad were pursuing a man who was driving recklessly.
A suspect was taken into custody Thursday night, sources said.
Irvine’s partner, 36, also a four-year-veteran of the department, was in stable condition, according to Morales, who did not identify him.
The officers were based at District 4 at North 69th Street and West Silver Spring Drive.
Irvine is the first Milwaukee police officer killed in the line of duty since Officer Wendolyn O. Tanner was fatally shot during a foot pursuit of a suspect in 1996 in an open area behind a home in the 4800 block of North 21st Street.
The driver’s name has not been released, but online court records show his driver’s license had been revoked for refusing to submit to a drug or alcohol test in an earlier traffic incident.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash, Morales said.
Milwaukee’s chase policy has been the subject of widespread debate in recent years.
Currently, officers can chase vehicles linked to violent crime and are allowed to pursue cars tied to drug dealing or reckless driving.
Officers can chase if the “necessity of immediate apprehension outweighs the level of danger created by the vehicle pursuit, as in the case of the vehicle engaged in reckless driving.”