Milwaukee police firing.Murder suspect dies after being chased

milwaukee – A man wanted in connection with a murder in Milwaukee has died after police opened fire in downtown late Friday, September 2.

The man shot dead by police after a lengthy high-speed chase in downtown Milwaukee’s saloon district is 47-year-old murder suspect Ernest Blakney, according to the Milwaukee County coroner’s office.

Police have not confirmed it was Blakney, but have identified the man shot and killed as a 47-year-old murder suspect.

Sign up now: Receive daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

Brackney was wanted for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, 36-year-old Nikia Rogers. Blakney’s arrest warrant was issued for him on Monday, August 29.

Rogers’ body was found in a burnt-out Nash Park home in Bracney on August 25.

Ernest Blackney; Nikia Rogers

Officials said officers found the vehicle and suspect near 22nd and the National shortly before 11 p.m. Friday. I was. Officers attempted to stop traffic, but the suspect refused to do so and the chase continued.

The chase ended when the truck was disabled on Juneau Avenue, just west of downtown Water Street. At the time, officials said the suspect got out of the car and fired several shots at the officer. Several officers returned fire and punched the suspect. The suspect, identified by the coroner as Blakney, died from his injuries, although police identified him only as a 47-year-old murder suspect. His firearm was recovered.

A bystander was also shot and injured during the incident. The bystander, her 22-year-old woman from Hudson, was taken to the hospital for treatment. Authorities say it’s unclear at this time whose shooting struck the woman.

No other community members or officers were shot.

Eight police officers were involved in the incident:

• A 47-year-old male with 4 years or more of continuous employment,
• 31-year-old male with 12+ years of service,
• 30-year-old male with 5 years or more of continuous service,
• 26-year-old male with 4 years or more of continuous service,
• 23-year-old male with 5+ years of service
• A 22-year-old male with 4 or more years of service,
• Two 33-year-old males with 3 years or more of continuous service.

Free Download: Get breaking news alerts with the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android.

Each Officer is responsible for the same administrative duties as in any serious incident involving an Officer.

“We’re still looking into it. We need to download everyone’s cameras and interview officers. It was Code Red Night, right? It’s a Labor Day event. So there’s a lot of cops here.” “In fact, relatively speaking, it wasn’t Water Street. We were lucky, weren’t we? Lucky it wasn’t Water Street where I shot it.”

The Milwaukee Area Investigation Team will investigate this incident. The Oak Creek Department will be the primary law enforcement agency in the investigation.

A community briefing discussing this incident will be published in the future.

Negotiators are rattled

Nightlife returned Saturday to bars along Water Street near where the shooting took place.

But on Friday night, negotiators faced the unbelievable. Pickup He interrupted peak party time with the pavement clanging as trucks passed through intersections.

Victoria Jackson, who witnessed part of the incident and filmed it on her phone, said, “This is literally right because he decided to stop in front of Trinity, got out of the car and started firing at the police.

“We were lying on the floor at Trinity. We were all really scared. The cops were running through. We didn’t know if it was going to be ours next.”

Visiting from Eau Claire, Jackson was in line with some friends at a bar.

“I still can’t believe it. I’m pretty shaken,” she said. “I haven’t slept yet, so[Brackney]just read something else.”

The day after it happened, Jackson is grateful.

“It was crowded. This place was packed,” she said. “It’s crazy what happened in front of us.”

Prosecution Against Blakney

Prosecutors have charged Brackney with shooting and killing Rogers before setting fire to his house near 83rd Street and Vienna on August 25.

Milwaukee police and fire departments were called to the home about a “house fire” just before 4:30 am. While the fire department was extinguishing the fire, Rogers’ body was found on the second floor of his home.

An autopsy revealed that Rogers had four gunshot wounds from two bullets. The coroner’s office ruled a gunshot wound as the cause of death.

The criminal complaint states that the fires may have started at four different locations. A separate garage, basement, ground floor, and Rogers’ corpse. Her body had several burns consistent with being set on fire, and police found a container of lighter fluid nearby.

Home fires near 83rd Street and Vienna in Milwaukee

The complaint states that Blackney and Rogers lived together in the house. The Blakney-registered home had multiple vehicles. However, Rogers did not have one of his vehicles registered.

Investigators spoke to a man who said he had known Rogers for several years and had “reunited” with him a few weeks before the fire. He said he was moving things out of his house.

The man said he received a message from Rogers’ phone number minutes after paramedics called the fire brigade on August 25. The man replied, “Excuse me,” and someone replied, “She is dead.” A witness, knowing that Blackney went by his middle name Terrell, asked, “This Terrell?”Complaint said the number said yes

A witness who identified Blakney from the photograph told investigators that Blakney called him around 5 a.m. on the morning of the fire. Blakney said, “I’m in the woods,” and said, “I’m sorry,” but didn’t explain why, witnesses said. About 30 minutes later, witnesses said Brackney turned up at his home, “soaked” and bleeding. Blakney changed and threw out his wet clothes, which were later confiscated by police.

The site where Nikia Rogers’ SUV was found

The complaint states that the witness asked why he was sorry, but he only repeated, “She made me do it,” and eventually Blackney said, “I shot her.” Said he shot Rogers because she was moving out.

Witnesses later said Brackney had a gun, according to the complaint. According to witnesses, Blackney also said he intended to burn down his own house and burn a tractor trailer near 76th and his Florist. Witnesses said they tried to calm Brackney and persuade him to turn himself in, but he refused and walked away.

Based on eyewitness statements, police searched a forested area near Swann and Allin – about seven miles from the scene of the fire. Officers saw tire tracks leading from the road into the field and found Rogers’ SUV abandoned in the field about 100 yards away.

Police then spoke with a third man, according to the complaint. The man told police he was repairing a bulldozer at a construction site near the woods on Aug. 25 and heard “metal crumbling” while riding in a work truck. He went to the back of the truck and saw a man he identified as Brackney from the photo lineup pointing a gun at him. Blakney demanded the keys to the truck, ordered the man inside the trailer, locked him in from outside, and put him in the truck. The man eventually ran away and called 911.

Construction site with workers forced into trailers at gunpoint

Overall, Blakney was charged with:

• 1st degree reckless murder
• Attempt to mutilate a corpse
• armed robbery
• possession of a firearm by a felon
• felony bail jump
• false imprisonment

Blackney was previously charged with second-degree sexual assault for having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 2020 and was released in November 2021 after posting $5,000 bail, according to the complaint.

On August 15, 2022, ten days before the fire, he pleaded guilty and was found guilty. He was due to be sentenced on his October 20th. In 2010, he was convicted of cocaine possession.