The search was on.
Milwaukee police officer Michael J. Michalski and other members of the Special Investigations Division were looking for a convicted felon wanted on drug and domestic violence offenses.
They spotted the man as they approached a house on North 28th Street, near West Wright Street, on Wednesday evening.
The man ran inside the house.
Officers followed — and were met by gunfire, Police Chief Alfonso Morales said Thursday.
Michalski was shot.
The officers returned fire and the gun battle continued until the suspect ran out of ammunition, Morales said.
Michalski, a 17-year Police Department veteran, died from his injuries at Froedtert Hospital.
He was 52.
Morales noted no one else was wounded in the incident, following earlier reports that another person was injured.
Michalski is survived by his wife, Susan, and three sons, John, Josh and Andrew, Morales said.
"Officer Michalski was loved by everyone," the chief said.
Morales explained the sequence of events, as police understand them to date, in front of the department's Fallen Law Enforcement Memorial.
It was a sadly familiar scene.
Seven weeks ago, Morales stood before the same memorial and spoke to reporters after a young Milwaukee officer was killed in a squad crash.
At the time, it was the department's first line of duty death in 22 years.
Suspected shooter identified
The suspected shooter was taken into custody Wednesday in the 2400 block of North 28th Street.
Jonathan C. Copeland Jr., 30, of Milwaukee, was booked on a tentative charge of first-degree intentional homicide, according to arrest logs and police.
Copeland has an "extensive" criminal history as an adult and juvenile, Morales said.
A warrant was issued for Copeland's arrest May 18 after he was charged with possession with intent to deliver heroin, court records show.
The warrant remained open as of Wednesday.
In that case with the open warrant, Copeland is accused of running from police, first in a car, then on foot. An officer found several plastic bags of suspected heroin and cocaine in the car, according to a criminal complaint.
In a 2008 case, Copeland was found guilty of two counts of being a felon with a gun. He was sentenced to five years in prison and five years of extended supervision.
Two years before that, he was convicted of armed burglary and was sentenced to just over a year in prison. Court records describe Copeland as taking part in an armed home invasion of a person he knew.
He originally was charged with armed robbery, which was changed to a lesser charge of armed burglary as part of a plea agreement.
'This officer was...a dedicated family man'
Milwaukee Ald. Mark Borkowski became emotional describing Michalski's importance to the community — and his family.
"This officer was a constituent of mine, a dedicated family man," Borkowski said. "He leaves behind a lovely wife, children and grandchildren."
Borkowski called him "a giant in our community," adding that the Jackson Park neighborhood where he lived was especially grieving.
"He was a very quiet, unassuming man who did his job and did it very well," Borkowski said. "He was a pillar of our community. He leaves behind a huge void."
Borkowski said his brother Matthew, a longtime Greendale police officer, was one of Michalski's workout partners and a good friend.
"You talk about hitting home," Borkowski said.
Michalski also was a dedicated police officer, his department record shows.
A year ago, he and other members of the Robbery Task Force were honored at the Spring Merit Awards. The task force helped curb a rise in carjackings and auto thefts in the Milwaukee area.
In 2012, he was praised by the department after he and his partner found four pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop. Three people ran from the car, but Michalski and his partner caught up to them and took them into custody.
'A horrendous loss'
Tributes poured into the Milwaukee Police Department on Thursday.
A florist from Musekgo dropped off a spray of flowers shaped like angel wings. Bouquets of flowers rested atop a squad car draped with a black flag.
Gov. Scott Walker ordered flags of the United States and the State of Wisconsin to be flown at half-staff in honor of Michalski.
A community vigil has been scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at North 28th and West Wright Streets.
"He is the person that you would want to cookie-cut and say this is what we want the Milwaukee Police Department to represent," Morales said.
"He is the person that if you’re going to the door and wanted cooperation or wanted people to talk to you, you would send Officer Michalski," he said.
Mayor Tom Barrett offered prayers and condolences to the officer's family.
"As I talked to people last night who worked with him, to a person, they said he embodied the professionalism and the respect that we all want to see throughout our Police Department," Barrett said.
His death is "a horrendous loss" for his family, the Milwaukee Police Department and the city, the mayor said.
Michalski is the second Milwaukee officer to be killed in the line of duty in as many months.
On June 7, Officer Charles “Chuckie” Irvine, Jr. was killed when the squad he was a passenger in crashed while chasing a reckless driver.
Before then, the last line of duty death was in 1996 when Officer Wendolyn O. Tanner was fatally shot during a foot pursuit of a suspect in an open area behind a home in the 4800 block of North 21st Street. The shooter was sentenced to life in prison.
