Milwaukee Police Officer Dwain Monteilh (mahn-tay) is recovering from serious injuries after he was beaten Monday afternoon. Chief Ed Flynn says while on routine patrol 43-year-old Monteilh and another cop — Officer Roy Horn — tried to question two people who were “behaving in a suspicious manner,” but one suspect initiated a fight and attempted to grab Monteilh’s gun.
“During the course of this struggle,” Flynn says, “as the officer put both his hands on his own weapon to prevent it from being pulled out of the holster, the suspect struck and kicked Officer Monteilh in the head, fracturing his right orbital and causing bleeding behind his eye.”
Assisting officers responded quickly, as they were nearby. Flynn says that entire area is what MPD considers to be a “hot spot” of crime. “The individual who assaulted officer Monteilh has an extensive arrest record, including three domestic assault batteries, one other battery, and possession of a dangerous weapon.”
It’s unknown why the two engaged in a fight. Flynn says officers resisted using deadly force to regain control of the situation, but insists they would have been justified if they had used their weapon. “This was a very violent struggle. There’s something else our officers don’t get sufficient credit for, and that’s their restraint. When somebody goes for your gun, you have every right to use deadly force,” Flynn says, “Deadly force was justified in this case, and those officers did not use it.”
AUDIO: Flynn :18
It’s important to point out, Flynn says, cops are putting their lives on the line every day. “This incident demonstrates very clearly the risks our officers are undertaking every single day as we labor to confront this spike in violence we have undeniably experienced these last two months.”
Milwaukee police officers are making progress in taking the guns away from the bad guys. Flynn says in two months his officers have taken 553 guns off the streets. He says in the month of August, MPD has made over 2,000 arrests. (See the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s crime & safety page.)
Meanwhile, Monteilh is recovering at Froedtert Hospital. Flynn says he is conscious, talking, and his eye “looks like hell,” but he’s in good spirits and still had his sense of humor.
