MILWAUKEE (AP) — Prosecutors on Sunday charged a 26-year-old man in the killing of a Milwaukee police officer.
Jordan P. Fricke, of Milwaukee, was charged with first-degree intentional homicide and other crimes in the fatal shooting Wednesday of 35-year-old Officer Matthew Rittner, who was serving a search warrant. Authorities arrested Fricke soon after the shooting.
Police say Fricke was the target of the warrant and was wanted for the illegal sale of firearms and drugs. Authorities say officers announced themselves as police and Fricke fired several rounds, hitting Rittner.
Fricke, who also faces reckless endangerment and drug charges, remained jailed on Sunday with preliminary bail set at $500,000. Court records do not list an attorney who could speak for him.
Rittner, a 17-year veteran of the force, was the third Milwaukee officer killed in the line of duty in eight months. The department had previously gone more than two decades without such a death.
Rittner’s funeral is scheduled for Wednesday at Oak Creek Assembly of God Church in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
