Two Milwaukee cops charged in death of drug suspect Keishon Thomas in police holding cell

Two Milwaukee police officers were charged Friday in connection with the death of Keishon Thomas in a holding cell last year.

Thomas, 20, was found dead inside the city’s District 5 police station in February 2022. Officer Donald Krueger was charged with felony abuse of person in custody, while his colleague Marco Lopez was charged with misdemeanor misconduct in office.

Cops picked up Thomas on a warrant in the morning of Feb. 23, 2022, and transported him to the District 5 station. Thomas told Krueger that he’d ingested cocaine, marijuana and ecstasy, according to prosecutors. He was visibly ill, dry heaving and sweating.

Krueger promised Thomas that he’d call an ambulance, but he never did, prosecutors said. Instead, Thomas remained in a holding cell for a period of hours — during which Lopez took over for Krueger on booking duty.

Immediately after Thomas’ death, Milwaukee police said Krueger and Lopez conducted “multiple cell checks.” But prosecutors say Lopez missed 10 checks on Thomas’ cell.

Cops noticed Thomas was ill and near death at 6 p.m. that day. Twenty minutes after that, he was pronounced dead in his cell. An autopsy listed his cause of death as acute mixed drug intoxication.

Krueger and Lopez were both suspended after the incident. Krueger later retired, while Lopez remains suspended.

“Keishon’s death could have been prevented if the officers who were responsible for him at the time of his arrest followed the protocol,” said prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who was hired by Thomas’ family. “The role of police officers is to help people, but when Keishon needed help the most, he was ignored and left to die.”

With News Wire Services