Milwaukee County sheriff's deputies are teaming up with Milwaukee Police officers for the Tactical Enforcement Unit (TEU). The Sheriff's Office says the group will focus on "violent crime reduction in Milwaukee's Highest crime areas."
"People are tired of seeing their loved ones killed on the streets," Milwaukee County Sheriff Richard Schmidt said.
Schmidt points to a recent violent weekend as a catalyst for the move.
"When we have such things that we had a few weeks ago where we had a high rise in violent crime, multiple people being killed in a weekend... I talked with Chief Morales and said 'hey listen I would like to partner with you.'"
From September 7th through the 9th, the sheriff's office says 70 traffic stops were made, 51 vehicles were searched, and 21 citations were issued. A total of 10 suspects were arrested.
The TEU group was involved in a chase Monday evening. The sheriff says TEU officers attempted a felony stop on a vehicle that led them on a chase. The chase ended with a crash at 27th and Lisbon and sent 3 people to the hospital.
2 innocent bystanders were sent to the hospital with serious injuries, according to Milwaukee Police. The sheriff says officers weigh the danger to the public versus the importance of capturing the suspect.
"We don't want crashes, we don't want pursuits but people need to keep this in mind. If the police do not go after these violent criminals that are out there committing felonies and violent crimes we're never going to get them stopped and they're going to keep this type of unfortunate behavior," said Schmidt.
