Two Wisconsin Police Officers, Suspect Killed Following a Traffic Stop Shooting

By BERT HOOVER First Posted: Apr 10, 2023 01:52 AM EDT

Two Wisconsin police officers and the suspect were killed in a shootout during a traffic check on Saturday.

The shooting started around 3:38 p.m. local time when an officer from the Chetek Police Department stopped a car in Cameron, as stated by the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

The state agency confirmed the deaths of a Chetek police officer and a Cameron, Wisconsin police officer, according to CNN.

The statement added that the driver involved was taken to a hospital and was later declared dead.

The identities of the officers and the third individual in the traffic stop shooting remain unknown. The authorities have not commented on the circumstances that led to the traffic check or the subsequent shooting.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice is investigating the event involving two Wisconsin police officers. The department's Division of Criminal Investigation is still looking into the data and figuring out what happened, according to a news release, stating that the Barron County District Attorney will take over the investigation afterward.

Death of Wisconsin Police Officers Mourned by Nearby Police Departments

Wisconsin State Patrol, the Wisconsin State Crime Lab, and a DCI Crime Response specialist are all helping in the investigation, headed by the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation.

Nearby Wisconsin police departments have all voiced their astonishment and sadness at the deaths of the cops, NY Post noted.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Cameron and Chetek Police Departments," said the Barron County Sheriff's Office statement.

"We are with heavy hearts as we've heard about the loss of 2 officers in Barron County," the Oconto Police Department wrote on Facebook after learning of the tragedy, adding that the officers' friends, family, and the communities they protected are in their thoughts and prayers.

The Hudson Police Department tweeted their condolences, saying, "It is with heavy hearts we send our thoughts and prayers to the Village of Cameron Police Department, the City of Chetek Police Department, the Barron County community, and the families of two officers lost in the line of duty today."

Recent Shooting Marked the Second and Third Wisconsin Police Who Died on Duty

This would be the second and third Wisconsin police officer deaths in the line of duty this year, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, a website that keeps track of such deaths nationwide, per Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Meanwhile, there were no Wisconsin police officers killed in the line of duty in 2022.

Wisconsin police Peter Jerving, from Milwaukee, who died this year, was shot and murdered just two months earlier while attempting to make an arrest. Jerving has been in the service for four years.

Jerving and the fleeing suspect, Terrell Thompson, were killed in the ensuing exchange of gunfire between multiple police officers and the Thompson.

The suspect died at the scene, while the wounded Wisconsin police died in the hospital.

"Milwaukee, our hearts are heavy. Milwaukee Police Department hearts are heavy. My heart is heavy," Police Chief Jeffrey Norman noted.

He said that one of their finest officers put on the uniform and the badge went on to work and sacrificed himself to protect the community.

"Milwaukee, we need your prayers. We need your support," he concluded.