Milwaukee police on Monday released body-worn camera footage from a tense, roughly hour-long standoff that ended with officers shooting and killing a 22-year-old man inside an apartment building on the city’s northwest side. The video, made public 17 days after the June 12 incident, tracks the confrontation from near 84th Street and West Kaul Avenue to the moment the wounded man is taken for treatment at a hospital, where he later died. The release has stirred fresh questions from neighbors and the man’s family about police tactics and how transparent the department is prepared to be.
Police timeline
According to the Milwaukee Police Department, officers were dispatched around 10:58 a.m. on June 12 to the 8500 block of West Kaul Avenue after a caller reported a man who had threatened to shoot them and tried to rob them. Police say they encountered a man armed with a revolver who held the gun to his head, told officers to shoot him, then ran into a nearby apartment building. There, he moved to a second-floor landing, where officers heard a gunshot. Investigators later determined the suspect had also tried to steal a vehicle nearby, and the department says his revolver was recovered at the scene.
What the video shows
The body-camera footage released Monday shows the man, identified in reporting as 22-year-old Jaylyn J. Brown, holding a revolver and repeatedly refusing officers’ commands to drop it. CBS 58 reports that the video includes negotiators offering Brown a bottle of water and a cigar, officers deploying less-lethal tools, and then officers firing at him on the second-floor landing. He was taken from the building to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Family reaction
“I want that officer arrested,” Brown’s mother, D’Lynn Brown, told CBS 58, saying she had been shown body-camera video of the standoff. She said her son had been struggling with mental health issues and questioned why negotiators did not connect him with family members while officers were trying to talk him down.
Investigation underway
The Milwaukee Police Department says the Milwaukee Area Investigative Team is handling the case, with the Waukesha Police Department serving as the lead investigating agency. The three officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative duty while MAIT conducts its review, according to the department. The agency’s press release states that medical aid was rendered at the scene before the suspect was taken to the hospital. Officials describe the investigation as fluid and say additional details will be released as they become available.
Video policy and transparency
Milwaukee’s rules for releasing body-camera footage, known as SOP 575, require that families be allowed to view video within 48 hours of a death and that footage from critical incidents be made public within 15 days. The policy has been legally challenged and at times put on hold. WISN 12 has reported on the policy itself and the ongoing debate over how quickly such footage should be shared with the public.
What to watch next
Officials say the MAIT investigation, along with any later administrative or criminal reviews, will determine whether department policy or state law was violated. FOX6 Milwaukee notes the family’s calls for accountability and that city leaders are watching closely to see how investigators handle the case. The released video fills in portions of the timeline but leaves unresolved questions about the tactics officers used, the choices made by negotiators and what alternatives, if any, might have been available during the standoff.
