2 MPD officers charged in connection to in-custody death of Keishon Thomas

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MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Two Milwaukee Police Department officers are facing charges after allegedly neglecting an inmate who later died in police custody, and falsifying records.

Twenty-year-old Keishon Thomas died at Milwaukee Police Department District 5 on Feb. 23, 2022 after being taken into custody following a traffic violation. 

The Waukesha Police Department was tasked with taking part in the death investigation. 

According to a criminal complaint, Thomas admitted he ingested drugs before his arrest, including one crack rock, some marijuana, and a pill which officials believed may have been a Xanax.

He died after being found in need of medical attention in his jail cell. His cause of death was determined to be acute mixed drug intoxication.

Records show Donald Krueger, 49, is charged with abuse of a resident of a penal facility, and Marco Lopez, 40, is charged with misconduct in public office. 

The complaint says, per MPD standard operating procedure, it's required to do a visual check of prisoners in the cell block. Investigators say Lopez intentionally made entries in a report book which were false, "reflecting numerous inmate checks and inmate counts that never occurred." 

The complaint goes on to say Krueger neglected Thomas by failing to give him medical attention despite seeing him "dry heave multiple times" and being informed that he had recently ingested multiple controlled substances.

Krueger was placed on full suspension at the time of the incident. He retired in November of 2022, with 25 years of service. 

Lopez has over 12 years of service with the department. He is currently on full suspension. 

If convicted, both men could face up to 3 years, 6 months in prison and could be fined up to $10,000. 








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