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A man who pleaded guilty to child sex charges was killed during a shootout with Milwaukee police over the weekend.
The incident began when 47-year-old Ernest Terrell Blakney led officers on a high speed car chase after allegedly killing his ex-girlfriend.
Prosecutors had been trying to keep Blakney behind bars until his sentencing hearing, but a judge blocked their request.
During the chase, Blakney opened fire on police, and officers returned fire, killing him.
No officers were hurt in the incident.
Police shot and killed wanted pedophile Ernest Blakney in an intense gun battle after a high-speed chase through Milwaukee’s streets.
Blakney, 47, was wanted for the murder of his ex-girlfriend as well as other charges connected to her death, including first-degree reckless homicide, attempted mutilation of a corpse, armed robbery, possession of a weapon by a convict, felony bail jumping, and false imprisonment.
The chase began on the city’s south side and ended in the downtown area, where Blakney crashed his car into a tree. He then got out of the car and began shooting at officers, who returned fire and killed him.
Blakney’s ex-girlfriend, whose name has not been released, was found dead in her apartment on Saturday. Police have not said how she was killed.
Videos of the gunfight quickly went viral on social media, as numerous police cars followed Blakney in hot pursuit. The chase came to an end when Blakney crashed his car into a tree. He then exited the vehicle and began firing at officers with a handgun.
According to Truth Tent, “Blakney was charged last year with second-degree sexual assault of a child for allegedly having sex with a 13-year-old. He pled guilty to the charge last month and was freed on bail by Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge David Borowski who denied prosecutors motion to keep him in jail.”
Just two years ago, the “Defund the Police” movement was gaining traction among left-leaning activists and politicians. But now, as Democrats battle to keep control of the Senate, many of the party’s candidates in key battleground states are embracing law enforcement – a sharp reversal from just a few years ago.
Rep. Val Demings of Florida, who is running for Senate, is one example. In her victory speech, she was greeted with blue and yellow signs that read “CHIEF.” It’s the title she held in Orlando for four years, where she was the city’s first female police department chief. It’s also a title she’s spent millions on advertising to bring attention to during her Senate campaign: She’ll be known as “Chief” instead of “Congresswoman,” according to her ads.
“Taking that experience of being the chief to Congress, I do think helped me. As a law enforcement officer, I cannot tell you the political party of the overwhelming majority of men and women that I worked with. It didn’t matter. We had a mission and that was to keep our community safe.”
The shift among Democrats comes as the party faces a daunting task in the battle for the House & Senate.
