MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Police Officer Herbert Davis III, who was shot multiple times on Jan. 27 while responding to a welfare check and is a huge Cincinnati Bengals fan, has been surprised with Super Bowl tickets.
WTMJ-AM and Good Karma Brands surprised the officer on live radio. They bought him two Super Bowl tickets, two plane tickets, a hotel room, and are giving him a couple thousand dollars in spending money to use while at the game. Originally, a GoFundMe was set up to get Officer Davis to the Super Bowl. But then WTMJ-AM stepped in to get him to Los Angeles.
Station Vice President Steve Wexler made the announcement live on the air.
“It's just a token of our appreciation for your service, your commitment, and your inspiration that you've brought to all of us," said Wexler.
Davis remained speechless for a few moments, thanking the station and staff for the trip.
Davis said he plans to take his dad to the game. That is where he got his love for the team.
“My dad is my best friend. As much as I am happy and excited for this, this would mean the world to him,” said Davis.
Right after Officer Davis heard the good news he said that he wants to give recognition to the other officers who were also shot in the line of duty in the past few weeks: Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Deputy Christian Almonte and Milwaukee Police Detective Andrew Wilkiewicz. Now, Officer Davis wants to use the money from his GoFundMe to get Almonte and Wilkiewicz to the Super Bowl as well.
“Whatever money that we got donations from, anything that we were able to do, I wanted to share that with them. Football fans or not, if they wanna come I wanted to be able to get them there. If they are not football fans, I would love the opportunity to donate to a cause they would want," Davis said.
The Super Bowl between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams will take place on Feb.13 in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium.
On Jan. 30, Officer Davis went viral as video showed him reacting emotionally to the news that Cincinnati was going to the Super Bowl.
While the news of him going to the Super Bowl and beginning the recovery process is great, it was all born out of tragedy.
The shooting happened around 5:53 p.m near 2101 W. St. Paul Ave on Jan. 27. Officer Davis was responding to a welfare check of a slumped over who turned out to be 22-year-old Jetrin Rodthong.
When Rodthong exited the car, he tried to run away. A brief struggle ensued. The officer moved away from Rodthong but Rodthong walked up to him and shot Officer Davis. Then Rodthong ran to the officer's squad car, got in, and drove off, prosecutors say.
Rodthong drove to the area of Clybourn Street and 17th Street when he crashed into another vehicle. Rodthong fled that scene on foot. That's when he was arrested by responding officers. According to the complaint he had multiple gunshot wounds.
Police found several items in his pocket which tested positive for opiates, methamphetamine, and fentanyl. According to the complaint, Rodthong then admitted to using meth and heroin before his altercation with the officer.
He also admitted to having a pink 9mm in his waist prior to the exchange.
Rodthong went on to tell police he got out of the car when asked because he did not want to go to jail again. But, when the officer was going to put his hands behind his back, all Rodthong could think about was getting away.
When asked what happened next, Rodthong just repeated that he wanted to get away, according to the complaint.
Rodthong's preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 9. A cash bond has been set for $1 million. He has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide and use of a dangerous weapon.
