Critical Incidents

The Fox Point Police Department continuously works to improve the services provided to the public and encourages the use of professional communications to de-escalate an incident whenever possible.  Unfortunately, some law enforcement encounters with individuals escalate and result in the use of force to the level of great bodily injury occurring or leading to the death of an individual.  We are thankful these incidents are rare; however, they have a significant impact on the family of the individual, the involved officer, the Department and the community when they do occur.  This section of our website is intended to provide a high-level overview of how these matters are investigated and how information is shared with the public.

  1. Investigation

The priority at all police scenes is the preservation of life.  All officers on the scene of a critical incident will work to preserve the life of any injured person(s), providing medical care to the best of their ability within the parameters of scene safety.  Once the scene is stabilized information will be collected and an investigation initiated.  Officers and investigators from the Fox Point Police Department will continue to investigate the original call for service (if needed and appropriate), while the Milwaukee Area Investigative Team conducts an investigation into the officer involved critical incident.

The Milwaukee Area Investigative Team (MAIT) is comprised of officers and investigators from law enforcement agencies throughout Milwaukee County.  MAIT was developed in 2016 and provides an outside investigative body, along with a lead agency as specified in Wisconsin state statute 175.47.  MAIT will be responsible for the entire investigation, along with compiling all written reports and providing the final report to the district attorney.

An officer involved critical incident will have a significant impact on the community and the rapid sharing of information will assist the community as it works through the incident.  These investigations become complex very quickly and how information is distributed, along with what information is shared, may have an impact on the overall investigation or influence the final outcome(s) prematurely.  

  1. Public Information
  1. Internal Review
  1. Discipline / Criminal Review