BUTLER, Wis. — Wisconsin hearts were heavy Monday as fallen Milwaukee Police Officer Peter Jerving was laid to rest.
Before Officer Jerving joined the Milwaukee Police Department, he worked at Western States Envelope & Label in Butler.
He started in the factory in 2005 until he resigned to become a full-time officer with the Milwaukee Police Department.
A memorial stone was unveiled Monday afternoon to honor the former team member they lost.
John Ellis, a production manager at the company, says it's only fitting that Jerving is honored in this way by his second family at Western States.
“He was a guy that could bring a smile to your face no matter what the situation was. To see our company do something like this for him is phenomenal and it’s a great honor for Pete,” shared Ellis.
Carnations were laid at his memorial stone by current and former employees beneath flags raised at half-staff.
Dan Prieb is the Director of Manufacturing Operations at Western States. He's been with the company for 35 years and worked closely with Jerving.
"I wrote his letter of recommendation to get him into the police academy in 2017," Prieb said. "When this happened it was such a tragic loss we didn’t know what to do. I wanted to do a memorial of some kind."
After unveiling his stone memorial, the crowd held a moment of silence for their fallen friend who became family over his years working there.
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Officer Jerving's procession and funeral were held Monday. The 37-year-old was killed in a struggle with an armed robbery suspect early Tuesday morning, according to Milwaukee police. The suspect also died in the struggle, police say.
Officer Jerving worked out of Milwaukee Police's District 4 on the northwest side - the same community he grew up in. Jerving had a longtime girlfriend named Megan and leaves behind six siblings, family tells us.
For 14 years Jerving worked at Western States Envelope and Label in Butler, Wis. He became a police officer with the Milwaukee Police Department in 2019 after successfully making it through the police academy the year before. At the time of his death, he was pursuing a degree in criminal justice at Marian University in Fond du Lac.
