MILWAUKEE — Patty Jerving told me she wanted to meet to talk about her son, Peter, at a park on a nice, sunny day. So, on a Wednesday in June, we found a picnic table at McGovern Park.
It's a park she and her husband, Doug, used to come to early in their relationship, she told me. They just celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary in May.
Those 44 years together brought them their first four daughters and then three sons. They took the kids to the park to watch Fourth of July fireworks growing up. Grandchildren and children-in-law have also been added to the mix.
But that day in the park, we were there to talk about her fifth child and first son, Peter Jerving.
"There are good days and bad days. Little things will trigger me and I'll cry. But we know where Peter is, so that's been a big comfort to us," Mrs. Jerving said.
Milwaukee Police Officer Peter Jerving was shot and killed in the line of duty on February 7th, 2023. Police say he was shot by a 19-year-old armed robbery suspect. Officer Jerving fired back at the suspect who also died.
"He told me he wanted to be the best damn cop that he could be," Mrs. Jerving told me while holding back tears. "I told a lot of people at the funeral and later, I don't know if he ever wanted to be a hero, but he wanted to be the best damn cop that he could be. And he fulfilled that."
Officer Jerving was 37 years old. He had four years of service with the department.
Raising Peter
"When was the earliest you maybe remembering him talking about wanting to be a police officer?" I asked Mrs. Jerving.
She knew the moment immediately.
"That was when he was 13," she answered. "He had gotten together with some friends that weren't the best, and he got a little disrespectful of his parents and he did something and we called the cops on him. And this very nice police officer came and talked to him for the longest time. And he told him, 'now you know you've only got one mother, you should be respectful of her' and that made Peter cry. And after that, he started talking about he wanted to be a police officer."
But that childhood dream was delayed.
Mrs. Jerving home-schooled all seven children. In fact, the homemade diploma she made for her son was hanging on the wall at his house when she went there after his death.
"When he graduated then he wanted to go to the academy, but we couldn't send him at that time so he just got a job. And he was at that job I think for at least 13 years," she recalled.
Mrs. Jerving described her son as hardworking and determined. But he also had a goofy side.
She showed me a picture of her family at her oldest daughter's wedding, pointing out Peter with arms spread wide and a smirk on his face.
"You know he loved to make people laugh," Mrs. Jerving said through her own chuckles.
Joining the Milwaukee Police Department
Mrs. Jerving said her son excelled in his jobs as a young adult, "just anything he put his mind to do, he did very well." But, he still felt the calling to serve.
"After he turned 33 he realized that if he was ever going to fulfill his childhood dream, he should do it. So he quit the job and applied," she said. "He joined in June of 2018 and I was told that it had been 22 years since a police officer had been killed in the line of duty. So I thought, it's a dangerous job but he'll be OK."
She showed me a photo of his graduation from the academy. His father got to pin his badge on him at the ceremony.
"They were just busting with pride up there on that stage," Mrs. Jerving remembered.
She, too, was bursting with pride, cheering for her son on that special day.
"Different people were yelling, 'that's my son! That's my brother!' So I stood up and just as I yelled 'that's my son!' it got real quiet. They told me later they heard me on stage," Mrs. Jerving told me with a laugh. "So I said, 'that's my son!' And then I started crying."
Mrs. Jerving told me stories about how Peter would often stop by her house in his squad car just to say hi. They lived in District 4, the same district he served in.
"In the early years, when he wasn't busy, he'd drive past our house. And I'd see a police car out in the alley so I'd text Peter: 'is that you Pete?' And he'd text back, 'Yup it's me.' But in these last couple of years he was very busy, especially after 2020 because the police had to work so many long hours then," she said.
Her son's schedule was also getting busier recently because he started taking classes at Marian University. Mrs. Jerving said her son was studying criminal justice.
"What did it mean to him to lead a life of service, public service like this as a police officer?" I asked Mrs. Jerving.
"I think he enjoyed every bit of it. He liked the uniform and he liked the cop cars and he liked driving fast. He liked getting the bad guys off the street," she replied.
E.O.W February 7th, 2023
"This is hard," I started to ask Mrs. Jerving, birds chirping above us. "But can you take me back to that day? Can you tell me a little bit about what that was like?"
"Probably not without crying," she said before she recounted a night she'll never forget. "It was 2:30 in the morning and our doorbell rang. I said to Doug, 'who is ringing our doorbell at 2:30 in the morning?'"
Her husband got up to find three detectives on their front porch. Mrs. Jerving at first thought something must have happened in their neighborhood and the officers were there to ask if they had heard or seen anything.
"They came in and they were very kind and very respectful, and they just said, 'there's been an incident.' And Doug said, 'well, how's my son?' He said, 'is he alright?' And they paused. And it seemed like a very long pause," Mrs. Jerving recalled as she began to get emotional.
"At that moment I knew it wasn't good. So they said, 'no, he passed.'"
The officers told the Jervings to call whoever they need to call. Mrs. Jerving said she exclaimed, "We've got six kids, we're going to be here forever making calls."
The officers told them to take their time.
On the other end of the line, as she called each of her remaining six kids, Mrs. Jerving was met with screams and cries.
"They just couldn't believe it," she said.
The Jervings were then taken to the hospital to see their son.
"I touched his head and he was cold. And I said, 'he's not here.' And I knew he wasn't. He was already gone," she remembered.
Officer Jerving knew the risks of the job, his mom said, but he was willing to take those risks.
"On the night that he died, his partner tried to keep the gunman's hand down and instead of taking cover, which I'm told police are trained in the face of gunfire to take cover, Peter didn't. He ran to the danger because he knew his partner would most likely be killed. So he risked his life to save his partner," Mrs. Jerving said. "He did what he had to do even though I'm sure it hurt him to have to shoot. But he did."
Another Mother
Although the grief of losing a child is enough to devastate any parent, Mrs. Jerving says it's even more devastating to know two sons were killed that night.
"It was hard to me to think another mother lost a son that same night," she said. "Every night after it happened I would pray. I would just kind of repeat the same things. Praying for my family, but also for the other family."
I asked Mrs. Jerving about the mother of the other man killed that night, "if you ever had the chance to sit down with her, what would you tell her?"
"I would probably just cry with her. You know I don't know what I would say to her, I just wish it had turned out a little different," she shared. "I do think about her and absolutely wish her well."
"I know that other young man also passed, but do you forgive him?" I asked.
"Yes," Mrs. Jerving said. "The bible says if I don't forgive I won't be forgiven... I hope at the last minute he was granted forgiveness."
Community Support
In the days, weeks and now months following Officer Jerving's death the Milwaukee community has rallied behind the Jerving family. From memorials, to cards, charity volleyball games and so much more.
Peter was a big sports fans, especially of the Milwaukee Brewers. Mrs. Jerving said the night the team honored Officer Jerving is one of the moments that most stands out in her mind.
"I brought the trophy here that the Brewers gave us. It says: 'hometown champions. Officer Peter Jerving. Tipping our hat for your courage, commitment and sacrifice,'" she shared.
She is also incredibly proud of the Medal of Honor her son was awarded posthumously. She and her husband plan to travel to Washington, D.C. next year during Police Week to see Peter Jerving's name engraved in the Police Hall of Fame Memorial.
Mrs. Jerving and her family have also felt the embrace of the Milwaukee Police Department.
"Peter's co-workers, co-officers were just devastated by his death. So, I had to go to District 4 to comfort them. I was told that really helped them," she said. "Then I thought I should go to all seven of the districts because Peter was the fifth Milwaukee Police officer to die in the line of duty in five years, so they were all feeling the trauma."
I said to Mrs. Jerving, "even in your grief, you're still mothering others."
She smiled and said, "I lost one son, but I've gained a lot of sons and daughters in the Milwaukee Police Department."
What she's still in awe of is the number of people who showed up to celebrate her son's life and honor his service before, during and after the funeral.
"When we went from Elmbrook Church to the cemetery, there were people on both sides. And I looked at everything. I saw everybody waving their flags and holding their hearts. I remember that," Mrs. Jerving recalled. "That they thought so much of a Milwaukee Police Officer for them to come out and they were waving their American flags, that meant a lot to me too."
Nearly five months after her son's death, Mrs. Jerving continues to rely on her faith.
"I actually had a dream about him being in heaven too, all dressed in white. So that was a comfort too after he passed," she said.
Mrs. Jerving sent me a poem she wrote after meeting in the park that day, memorializing her son in her own words.
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