GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Data from the Wisconsin Professional Police Association shows deadly police shootings are up from last year.
Sixteen people have died in Wisconsin after officer-involved shootings in 2019, up more than 20% from 2018, and a higher number than all neighboring states.
“This is something we have to deal with as law enforcement leaders and obviously we do everything we can to not use lethal force but sometimes it’s necessary,” said Green Bay Police Chief Andrew Smith.
Seven of this year’s deadly police shootings happened in Northeast Wisconsin and five of the 16 incidents happened in the past few weeks.
Green Bay Police Chief Andrew Smith tells FOX 11 said he knows those statistics can seem alarming, but it’s important to analyze the numbers as a whole.
“We average an officer-involved shooting here in Green Bay about once every one and a half or two years, but if you look at all the contact our officers have with people in all different types of situations that’s a low number.”
Chief Smith said he recognizes the seriousness of using deadly force, that’s why his officers go through regular de-escalation training, even though it’s not required by the state.
“We brought some experts from the east coast that taught our officers not only bias training but also how to de-escalate situations. These experts were recommended to us by the Department of Justice.”
Wisconsin is one of 34 states which doesn’t require its officers to train in how to de-escalate a situation.
