MILWAUKEE – In what seems to be a case of déjà vu, another criminal with multiple pending cases was out on bond, thus given the opportunity to commit a criminal act. In this case, the offender is accused of shooting a Milwaukee police officer.
Jetrin Rodthong was charged in the Thursday shooting of an officer with the Milwaukee Police Department. The criminal defendant has multiple open felony cases and an active warrant against him, county documents reveal, according to Fox News.
Rodthong, 23, faces charges after the shooting and has several open felony cases dating back to 2020, including jumping bail.
Milwaukee Police Officer Herbert Davis, 26, was hospitalized after the shooting.
Davis responded to reports of an injured or sick person Thursday in the 2100 block of W. St. Paul Avenue. Upon his arrival, he discovered a person slumped over in a vehicle, according to a department press release.
Davis approached the individual who was later identified as Rodthong. The suspect attempted to flee from the vehicle and exchanged gunfire with the officer.
Following the shooting, Rodthong tried to flee the scene in Davis’ patrol vehicle. However, he crashed into another motorist in his haste to get away. He ran from the scene of the collision but was captured by additional responding officers, police said.
Davis, Rodthong and the driver of the vehicle Rodthong crashed into were transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Rodthong has subsequently been released with non-life-threatening injuries.
Fortunately, Davis has also since been released from the hospital.
“As much as we help the community, they’ll help us as well. It really means a lot,” Davis said after he was released Friday, Fox reported. “You expect that from your brothers and sisters, but you don’t know what you’re getting in certain situations.”
“The Milwaukee Police Department would like to thank the community members that stopped and remained at scene to help our wounded officer,” MPD said in the press statement. “We would also like to thank the Milwaukee Fire Department for providing prompt medical attention to our officer.”
Thursday’s shooting came amid a feverish rash of violence against police officers. A Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Deputy was shot multiple times on Wednesday by a fleeing suspect. On Jan. 21, two officers of the New York Police Department were fatally shot during a call of domestic violence. Two days later, Harris County Precinct 5 Corporal Charles Galloway was murdered during a traffic stop in Houston. Four days after that, three Houston officers were shot and wounded while pursuing a suspect. And then on Friday, a Kentucky State trooper was rushed to a trauma center after being shot.
According to the Milwaukee Medical Examiner’s office, the city is off to a deadly beginning in 2022. The city has already experienced 23 homicides to date, up from nine at the same time last year, an increase of 155 percent.
