Here's another update with a few more details. The detective who was wounded was treated and released from Froedtert.
Deputy wounded, murder defendant killed in Milwaukee courtroom tussle
From Journal Sentinel, AP reports
Last Updated: May 29, 2002
A man just convicted of murder was shot and killed by police in a Milwaukee County courtroom Wednesday after the defendant lunged at a deputy and tried to take his gun, authorities said. The deputy was wounded when his gun discharged.
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Co-defendant, 15, sent to juvenile center for role in homicide (5/24/02)Laron Ball had just heard the jury's guilty verdict when the incident unfolded late Wednesday morning at the Safety Building in front of Circuit Court Judge Jacqueline Schellinger.
Ball, 20, was a co-defendant in the armed robbery and murder of Amon Rogers, 27, who was shot twice in the back as he tried to flee his robbers on the night of Dec. 27 in the 5600 block of N. 91st St.
According to Ball's defense attorney, James A. Hanley, jurors were being polled when Ball suddenly stood up, scrambled over the defense table and took three quick steps toward a window on the south end of the courtroom, then climbed over a jury box and scuffled with bailiffs.
After one of the bailiffs was shot in the tussle, Ball - the deputy's gun in his hand and pointed downward, according to Hanley - was shot and killed by a Milwaukee police detective who had earlier testified against Ball.
"I've never seen anything like this as a judge and I'm not aware of any judge who has seen anything like it," Judge Schellinger said.
The injured deputy, 35, was taken to Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, where he was treated in the trauma unit and later released, hospital spokesman Mark McLaughlin said.
Another deputy and an attorney also were hurt in the commotion, said sheriff's Sgt. Charles G. Coughlin. Their injuries were not serious, he said.
The building, which also houses the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department and other offices, was closed after the shooting.
Chief Deputy Clerk of Circuit Court Jon Sanfilippo said a team of county mental health specialists was called to counsel the jurors in the case.
"They sat on a jury. They went through their civic duty and performed what was asked of them. The judgment was read. The next thing they know there was shooting," Sanfilippo said.
"I'm sure everyone was scared to death."
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Carl Ashley, whose courtroom is in a nearby building in the complex, said security can always be improved. But he feels safe in his courtroom.
"The elements of our society permeate the court system. We don't always have good players in here," Ashley said. "There is always some risk."
"There is some solace in the fact there wasn't a fundamental flaw in the security," he said.
In addition to Wednesday's murder verdict, Ball faced a jury trial next month on different felony charges of eluding an officer and escape. His record showed nine felony criminal complaints and five misdemeanor complaints filed against him in adult court since 1999.
More complete coverage of this developing story will appear online during the day and in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in the morning.