MILWAUKEE – The man accused of shooting a Milwaukee police officer near Cesar Chavez and Scott on the city’s south side in May reached a plea agreement with prosecutors.

On Thursday, Nov. 7, 27-year-old Mark Courtney Jr. pleaded guilty to two counts of 1st-Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety.

His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 7, 2025.

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Milwaukee police officer shot, wounded near Cesar Chavez and Scott

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Case details

Prosecutors initially charged 26-year-old Mark Courtney with first-degree reckless injury and first-degree recklessly endangering safety. The shooting happened near Cesar Chavez and Scott around 11 p.m. that night.

According to a criminal complaint, three officers were monitoring a Cinco de Mayo celebration when they heard multiple gunshots. One of the officers, a 29-year-old man with more than a year of service, felt pain in his leg and realized he’d been shot. The officer was taken to a hospital for treatment and released.

No officers returned fire, police said, and no one else was shot.

A witness told police Courtney and the third person “started to have words” in the restaurant, and they started to go outside to fight, the complaint states. The witness said the third person claimed to have a gun, but they did not see it.

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Once in custody, per the complaint, Courtney also described a “minor argument” in the restaurant about cutting in line. He said the person had a gun and, when he saw the person coming back, thought the person “had come back to kill him” – so he decided to defend himself. Prosecutors said the person at no point on video showed a gun.

Courtney said the person never shot back, the complaint states. He also apologized for shooting and wounding the officer, but maintained he acted in self-defense.