Robin Ward, the woman Court Commissioner Dewey Martin is allowing to walk out of the jail without paying a dime of bail money, pulled out a silver handgun and began waving it around in a north side Pick n’ Save, yelling, ‘Fck this sht, I’m the police in here!” a criminal complaint says.
She then pointed the gun at a Milwaukee police officer in a dangerous showdown that ended when the officer put away his taser and managed to talk her down, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Wisconsin Right Now. The complaint describes circumstances in which the officer would almost certainly have been justified legally to tase or shoot the woman, but instead he showed incredible restraint and then was able to defuse the touch-and-go situation that could have ended his life.
We obtained the complaint from the district attorney’s office, and it paints a harrowing scene of complete chaos inside the grocery store, as people mouthed off, tried to intimidate the officer, and got into fights inside the store. You can read the complaint in full here.
The complaint was released the day after Commissioner Martin, a former Corporation Counsel employee who has been a court commissioner in Milwaukee County since 2018, gave Ward the chance to leave the jail on a “signature bond,” which means she doesn’t have to put up any money to get out. She just has to sign a piece of paper, agreeing to abide by conditions. Martin’s action was hotly criticized by the president of the Milwaukee Police Association, Dale Bormann Jr., who says, “The victim, who is an officer, had a gun pointed within inches of his chest. Had she pulled the trigger, the officer could have died.”
The DA’s office tells us they asked for a $2,500 cash bond for Ward, but Dewey Martin rejected even that amount.
The complaint says the officer, who was in his department uniform, was working a detail patrol at the Pick n’ Save at 2355 N. 35th St. His duties consisted of “being a visual deterrent for any criminal activities at that location.”
The officer was standing near the self-checkout lanes at the entrance doors of the store when he heard a loud boisterous voice of a male he observed entering the store. He observed the male and two women, including Ward, being “loud and boisterous while using profanities.”
The complaint further alleges:
Ward appeared to be attempting to quiet the other two. The officer said he was walking towards the three, when he was notified by an employee of a fight outside. He went outside but the subjects involved in the fight had already left. He went back in the store and once again observed the same male subject being loud and boisterous.
The officer approached the male subject and asked him to leave. He then walked up to the officer within arm’s length. The officer drew his taser. The subject then looked at his duty belt and stated “oh fuck you have a gun, a taser, you really the police?’
Ward tried to escort the man out of the store. The officer followed to ensure they left the store and came back when he heard a commotion. The officer observed a second male wearing a blue jacket pushing another male subject.
He was wrestling with a plan clothes security guard.
The officer attempted to separate the two when he observed the defendant, who at some point reentered the store, pull out a silver handgun which had been concealed in the front pocket of her jacket.
“The defendant then stated, ‘I’m going to take care of this shit myself.” the officer stated he looked towards her and “observed that she had the gun pointed directly at him. The defendant then started waving the gun back and forth.”
The officer holstered his taser and “talked with the defendant trying to convince her to not shoot and put the gun down. The defendant eventually put the gun back in her pocket.” This allowed the officer to pull his gun and order Ward to the ground.
The firearm was a .380 loaded with five rounds.
Video surveillance shows Ward pointing a handgun at the officer.
The security guard told police he observed the officer tell a male subject that he needed to leave the store and stop his behavior but the subject appeared to try to intimidate the officer. Then another fight broke out in the store. The officer tried to break that fight up when he observed the defendant standing a few feet away from the officer.
The defendant told a detective that she was drinking and did not remember everything that happened. She stated she did not “mean to” point the gun at the officer when confronted with the video. She doesn’t have a concealed carry permit.
Ward was charged with intentionally pointing a gun at an officer, a felony, and carrying a concealed weapon. Police said previously in a news release that the gun was stolen, but she faced no charges relating to that.
