Governor Tony Evers has ordered flags in Wisconsin be flown at half-staff to honor Milwaukee police officer Matthew Rittner, who was shot and killed in the line of duty Wednesday.
They are to be be lowered immediately and remain at half staff until Rittner’s internment.
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2/7/19
MILWAUKEE, WI (WSAU) — The Milwaukee Police Officer killed while executing a search warrant on Wednesday was also a combat Veteran.
Matthew Rittner, 35, served two tours in Iraq before joining the Milwaukee Police force as a tactical officer where he would serve for 17 years.
Rittner enlisted in the Marines shortly after graduating high school and reportedly survived multiple IED (Improvised Explosive Device) attacks and a four-hour firefight.
Rittner leaves behind a wife, whom he married in a ceremony at Miller Park, and a child. A suspect, 26-year-old Jordan Fricke, is in custody. Formal charges against him are pending.
Rittner is the third Officer to die in Milwaukee in less than 12 months. Last June Officer Charles Irvine was killed when his squad car rolled. Then in August Officer Michael Michalski died during a shootout with a suspect wanted for drug and gun violations.
