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A death and a shooting: A look at what happened at Milwaukee's District 5 police station

Lauren Sigfusson
/
WUWM
Milwaukee Police Department vehicle

Late last month, the Milwaukee Police Department made headlines when a young man died in a holding cell. Just days later, they made headlines again when someone entered a police station and began shooting. Both happened at the same place: Milwaukee’s 5th district police station in the city’s Harambee neighborhood.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Elliot Hughes shares what is known so far.

On February 23, 20-year-old Keishon Thomas was stopped by Milwaukee police and was arrested. He had a warrant out for his arrest after failing to appear for a court appearance for a nonviolent misdemeanor and police say they also found suspected illegal narcotics on him during the traffic stop.

Thomas was taken to Milwaukee's District 5 police station, where he spent about 16 hours in custody.

"Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said that officers conducted multiple cell checks during his stay there but shortly before 6 p.m. on the 23rd, an officer noticed that Thomas needed medical attention and police officers and fire department personnel tried to save him, but unfortunately he did die," Hughes explains.

The Milwaukee County medical examiner's office performed an autopsy and found no evidence of trauma on his body. The cause of death is pending on a toxicology report.

Hughes points out that in light of this death, the police department changed a few procedures in its booking process — officers will now ask people when they're being booked into a holding cell whether they've recently consumed a prescription drug or narcotic.

After talking with Thomas' sister and mother, Hughes found that that they've been weary about what might have happened to Thomas.

"They've been saying that they hope that he wasn't the victim of some kind of injustice.They have retained a prominent civil rights attorney, named Benjamin Crump, to help them with navigate this incident, and they've also gotten help of the Know Your Rights campaign, which is a group that's funded by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick."

Then two days after Thomas died, 23-year-old Darreon Parker-Bell walked into District 5 and started asking on Thomas' death. According to court documents, the worker told him they didn't have any information to provide and Parker-Bell took out a gun and fired shots. No one was injured.

He then fled the scene, police pursed him and shot him. Parker-Bell survived, was taken into custody and then was charged with eight felonies.

"This man, Parker-Bell, you know, even told police that he had already been devastated by a few things that happened in his life before Thomas' death. The girlfriend said that three relatives of his had died in the last year, and he had been going through some mental health issues," says Hughes.

Hughes adds, "And he apparently told police that when he went into the police station that day, he was hoping police would return fire and kill him."

As for the police department, three officers have been suspended as a result of Thomas' death and seven have been placed on administrative duty following the Parker-Bell shooting. "Those two investigations are being led by Waukesha and West Allis police departments," says Hughes.

Joy is a WUWM host and producer for Lake Effect.
Kobe Brown was WUWM's fifth Eric Von fellow.
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