Thomas died from acute mixed drug intoxication of fentanyl, cocaine and meth at Milwaukee Police District Station 5 in 2022, where former Police Officer Krueger allegedly abused the victim while in custody by not providing medical attention and Officer López failed at least 10 times during his shift to monitor Keishon every 15 minutes including other inmates and López falsified the police cell block booking log that he monitored the victim and other inmates.
By H. Nelson Goodson
Hispanic News Network U.S.A.
February 24, 2023
Milwaukee, Wisconsin - On Friday, the Milwaukee Police Department reported that the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office filed criminal charges against Police Officer Marco A. López, 40, and former Police Officer Donald W. Krueger, 49, in connection with the death of Keishon D. Thomas, 20, while in police custody.
Donald W. Krueger was charged with one felony count of abuse of resident of penal facility. If convicted, Krueger could face up to 3 years, 6 months in prison and could be fined up to $10,000. He was placed on full suspension at the time of the incident; however, he retired in November of 2022 with 25 years of service.
Police Officer López was charged with one felony count of misconduct in public office (false entry). If convicted, López could face up to 3 years, 6 months in prison and could be fined up to $10,000. Officer López has over 12 years of service with the department. Officer López is currently on full suspension.
The criminal investigation was led by the Milwaukee Area Investigative Team. The Waukesha Police Department was the lead agency.
According to the criminal complaint, Krueger allegedly abused Keishon while in custody by not monitoring and providing medical attention after he swallowed suspected drugs. Krueger watched Keishon until López came in on duty in the following shift and then a third officer from another shift discovered that Keishon had died while in custody.
According to the criminal complaint, Officer López was to check Keishon and other individuals (inmates) in custody at the District Station 5 every 15 minutes during his shift. Video surveillance footage from inside the station showed that López did not check on the inmates including Keishon at least 10 times who were in custody.
Officer López was found to have falsely logged in the cell block booking sheet that he in fact checked on the inmates that were locked up, when in fact he did not.
The criminal investigation final determination found that Krueger neglected Keishon, who was confined at the station. He neglected Keishon by failing to garner him medical attention, despite seeing Keishon dry heave multiple times, being informed Keishon had recently ingested multiple controlled substances, noting Keishon's profuse sweating, and stating he was going to call an ambulance. Keishon ultimately died in custody at the district station. As a Milwaukee Police Officer, López made entries on the official booking sheet which were false. These entries reflected numerous inmate checks and inmate counts that never occurred. These false entries were material as the record of inmate checks is necessary to ensure the well-being of inmates and the appropriate functioning of the district station.
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