March 2023 Blues Vol 39 No. 3

AROUND THE COUNTRY yrs.

AROUND THE COUNTRY yrs. MILWAUKEE, WI. Milwaukee Police Officer Peter Jerving, 37, died after he was shot on the city’s south side. MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Police Officer Peter Jerving, 37, died after he was shot near 14th and Cleveland on the city’s south side early Tuesday, Feb. 7. Police said he was shot during a struggle with a robbery suspect who had just been placed on probation Monday. The shooting happened around 1:15 a.m. Tuesday when officers responded to 14th and Cleveland. Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said there was a report a man wanted for a robbery that happened near Teutonia and Good Hope Road late Monday was in the area. Norman identified him as Terrell Thompson, 19. Chief Norman said officers found Thompson, but he ran off. After officers caught up to him, during a struggle, Norman said Thompson shot Officer Jerving. Jerving then fired back, hitting Thompson. He died at the scene. Jerving, 37, had four years of service with the Milwaukee Police Department. He died at the hospital. “Milwaukee, our hearts are heavy. Milwaukee Police Department hearts are heavy. My heart is heavy,” Norman said. “One of our finest who put on that uniform, put on that badge, went into work last night and paid the ultimate sacrifice for protecting our community. Milwaukee, we need your prayers. We need your support.” Jerving was a lifelong Milwaukee resident and decorated officer, honored by the police department in fall 2022 for saving someone’s life in June. The Milwaukee Police Department said he received the award “for heroically providing lifesaving care to a shooting victim during extremely dangerous conditions.” Officer Jerving grabbed a fire extinguisher and helped save a man in a burning vehicle who had been shot. A procession guided Jerving’s body from the hospital to the medical examiner’s office Tuesday morning. Highways were shut down Tuesday evening for another procession, as the fallen officer’s body was transported from the Milwaukee medical examiner’s office to a Brookfield funeral home. “He was a loving friend, trusting colleague and outstanding officer whose passion it was to serve since the age of 13,” Norman said. The department’s chaplain, George Papachristou, read a OFFICER PETER JERVING statement from Jerving’s family at a Tuesday afternoon news conference. “It is with much sadness that we, the family of Officer Peter Jerving, announce his untimely death which took place in the line of duty,” the chaplain read. “Officer Peter Jerving loved and dedicated his life to serving the great people of our city. To his last breath, Peter fulfilled that goal. Milwaukee has lost one of its finest young officers.” “It’s just a heart-sinking feeling of remorse and respect for people and what they do every day to protect our safety,” said Michael Webber of Pewaukee. 24 The BLUES The BLUES 25