MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee police officer who was shot multiple times near 21st and St. Paulduring a welfare check Thursday night was released from Froedtert Hospital Friday evening.
The 26-year-old has been identified as Officer Herbert Davis.
A crowd waited patiently outside Froedtert to show their support for Davis just a day after he was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.
Family and friends were there to help welcome the officer home with cheers and a round of applause. Davis was also met with hugs from his colleagues.
Officer Davis began thanking the staff at Froedtert for taking care of him, as well as the citizens who stopped to call 911 after he was shot.
“I wish I knew their names, I wish I could thank them personally. If they are watching, I really want to say thank you to them," Officer Davis said. "I am so thankful for them. It means a lot to know that the citizens love us too. As much as we help the community, they help us as well… I can’t even put it in words how thankful I am for them and grateful I am for them. I would love to be able to see them in person and thank them personally.”
Officer Davis not only spoke on the love and support he received from the community, but also from his brothers and sisters at MPD.
“This is the brotherhood that they talk about when you enter MPD. It's a family. I definitely felt that family and that support and love," he said.
Watch here:
Officer Davis said he wants the citizens of Milwaukee to know that police are not the bad guys.
“Lets work together. As police officers, sheriff’s office, we all have a job to do. We want to work with the community. We’re not against the community. We care for the community, we go out and serve every day, each and every day," he said. "We just want the community to work with us and to not see us as the bad guys. We actually are the good guys and we just hope that we can convey that better.”
Davis is the second Milwaukee area law enforcement officer who was shot in two days, and the third officer this month.
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The Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) said Davis has more than seven years of experience in law enforcement.
The Milwaukee Police Association and the members of the Milwaukee Police Department thanked the community for their support for the officers who were shot in the past few weeks. In a statement on Friday, the Milwaukee Police Association called for bail reform in Wisconsin.
"Our officers' lives depend on it," the statement said. "Your lives and the lives of your loved ones depend on it."
You can read the full statement below:
Milwaukee police officer shot near 21st and St. Paul, squad car stolen and crashed
Milwaukee police explained in a late-night press conference Thursday that the officer was dispatched to 21st and St. Paul just before 6:30 p.m. after a caller reported a person who was slumped in a vehicle.
At the vehicle the officer encountered the person, who attempted to run away and revealed a firearm, police said. That's when the officer and the person exchanged gunfire. Both were hit by gunfire, according to MPD.
The suspect, identified as a 22-year-old man, then got into the injured police officer's squad car and drove from the scene. Police say he later crashed into another vehicle at 1700 W. Clybourn Street and continued running on foot.
MPD says responding officers eventually took the suspect into custody in the 600 block of N. 17th Street "without further incident." Officers say they found the suspect's firearm in the stolen squad car. Besides the police officer and the suspect, no one else was injured during the incident.
Community members stopped at the scene to help the injured officer. He suffered non-fatal injuries and is now in the hospital recovering. He was placed on administrative duty per protocol.
The suspect, as well as the driver of the car who he allegedly crashed into, were also brought to the hospital with non-fatal injuries.
