Milwaukee Officer Clings to Tow Truck, Fatally Shoots Fleeing Driver

A Milwaukee police officer clung to the driver's side window of a moving tow truck for several blocks before firing his weapon and fatally shooting the driver, body camera footage released by the department shows.

The shooting near South 15th and West Grant streets on Milwaukee's south side around 10 a.m. on March 12 killed Jonathan Otto, 35. The Wisconsin Department of Corrections told WISN 12 that Otto was wanted on allegations of assault and strangulation, and officers were attempting to arrest him when the confrontation began.

As the truck continued moving, the officer issued repeated commands for Otto to stop and warned he would fire if the suspect did not comply. A department spokesperson identified as Norman described what followed. "The suspect continued to refuse these commands multiple times," Norman said. "At this time, the officer discharged his firearm, subsequently striking the suspect and finally stopping the truck."

Otto died from the gunshot wound. The officer, 46 years old with 21 years of experience on the force, sustained injuries that were treated as non-fatal. Per department policy, he was placed on administrative leave.

Milwaukee police released the body camera footage publicly, making the full video available on the department's YouTube page. The clip quickly spread on social media, with a CBS 58 Facebook post of the footage accumulating 722,000 views and more than 2,100 comments.

No charges against the officer had been announced, and the scope of any internal or external review beyond the administrative leave was not immediately detailed by the department.