OFF-DUTY OFFICER KILLED IN DISPUTE
MPD community service officer shot on Monday
A community service officer for the Milwaukee Police Department was shot and killed on the south side Monday evening in what Acting Chief Michael Brunson said appeared to be a “neighbor dispute.”
Naeem Sarosh, 35, had worked for the police department for four years and was assigned to District 2, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. He was shot while off duty.
Police arrested a 65-year-old suspect after responding to the scene, near South 22nd Place and West Layton Avenue, about 6 p.m. Monday.
Brunson said more details would be provided in the coming days.
Sarosh “was beloved, well respected, and well liked,” Brunson said. “This is a tragic day for the Milwaukee Police Department and for this city.”
According to a 2017 job posting, community service officers are not sworn officers but respond to non-emergency calls, help with accident investigations, file reports from residents and assist with other tasks. They are unarmed.
Sarosh lived in the neighborhood where he was shot.
Tammy Mitton, a neighbor on the same block, said she heard the two arguing about something for several minutes Monday evening. At one point, she heard one man scream, “I told you to put that down,” but did not hear any gunshots. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said in a statement Tuesday that he is grateful for Sarosh’s service to the community.
“While the circumstances of the situation haven’t been fully determined, these types of senseless acts of violence should disturb us all,” he said.
Ald. Scott Spiker, who represents the Clayton Crest neighborhood where the shooting happened, also called it “senseless” in a statement Tuesday.
“When guns are used to settle disputes, whether among acquaintances or complete strangers, only tragedy can result,” he said.
Another neighbor, Nicole Santiago, said Sarosh was “an outstanding member of the community” who leaves behind a wife and two daughters.
“He was a really nice man with a big heart,” she said.
Santiago said Sarosh lived in the neighborhood for about four or five years and had been involved in a recurring dispute with the suspect. She said the suspect has lived in the area for decades but has mostly kept to himself.
“They were secluded,” she said. Brunson noted four other people had been killed over the weekend in Milwaukee and said the level of violence was an “untenable situation.”
“The level of gun violence is just unacceptable and we mourn for all of those victims in our city,” Brunson said.
Brunson said the shooting would be investigated by the department’s own homicide division and police would recommend charges to prosecutors in the coming days.