Community leaders, residents hold vigil to remember police officer Kendall Corder
Corder, 32, and his partner, 29-year-old Christopher McCray, were shot in an alley near North 24th Place and West Garfield Avenue on June 26 as they responded to a call for a subject with a gun. McCray survived, but Corder, a six-year police veteran, became the sixth Milwaukee officer killed since 2018.
Residents at the July 3 vigil expressed anger, especially for youth in the area, who deal with the social and psychological effects of violent crime, such as police shootings.
"These are all little, little babies, and they should be safe," said Maria Beltran, a nearby Lindsay Heights neighborhood resident and community activist. "So should our police officers that serve our city — they should be safe. A lot of us do not feel that they're on our side, but they're human beings. They're in the flesh, and they believe just like us, and they're our brothers and sisters, and we need to respect each other and love one another."
The vigil comes the same day that a Shorewood police officer was wounded after a suspect opened fire on them as they responded to a reported shooting, marking the third time an officer in the Milwaukee area has been shot within a week.
Tracey Dent, community activist and one of the vigil's organizers, called turnout for the event 'disappointing.' He encouraged the community to get more involved by attending regular community meetings held by respective police districts.
'We have to show up,' he said.
The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office charged 22-year-old Tremaine Jones in connection to the double Milwaukee police shooting.
Corder and his partner worked at Police District Two. Virginia Pratt, a pastor, community outreach worker and former correction officer, recalled that she worked with them.
"They are my family too," Pratt said. "They are good officers."
Kahlil McKinstry, with the North Avenue Community Ambassadors Program, came to the vigil with his young son. He called the shooting a tragedy, and said he believes that police officers are overworked.
"We're making cops afraid and nervous,' he said. "This is our community, and the community is hurting. I don't want anything to happen here."
Karin Tyler, the interim director for the city's Office of Community Wellness and Safety, arrived at the quiet block of the shooting the day after it occurred with a cohort of around 30 volunteers and outreach workers from the office's critical response. The group canvassed the neighborhood throughout the afternoon, handing out pamphlets and gun locks, and offering passersby different forms of clinical or "healing" support.
Tyler pointed out that the neighborhood falls into one of Milwaukee's designated "promise zones" — areas of the city that have historically seen high levels of violence and a low investment of resources.
"Our office is always mobilizing in these areas, and we have specific groups that are basically assigned to this specific area," Tyler said. "We know that people are pretty devastated by this, and there was a lot of fear in this area, for sure."
In a statement, Midtown Neighborhood Alliance, a local community organization, affirmed the neighborhood's "remarkable strength," but noted that "lasting safety" would require addressing systemic challenges and investing in public resources.
"While these acts of violence have shaken us, they do not define Midtown or its people," the organization wrote in the statement. "Midtown is a strong, caring, and resilient urban community where neighbors support one another and work tirelessly to build a better future."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Community leaders hold vigil to remember police officer Kendall Corder
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