Fallen Waukesha Police Officer Gets Monument 62 Years After His Death

WAUKESHA, WI — A new monument honoring a fallen Waukesha police detective who was shot and killed by burglary suspects in 1961 was dedicated in Pewaukee on Thursday.

Police officers and firefighters from Waukesha attended the ceremony to help honor Detective George Schmidling, the city said in a social media post.

Schmidling, the city's first officer to be killed in the line of duty, was investigating a burglary and tried to take three suspects in for questioning before he was shot and killed, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.

The detective planned to ride as a passenger alongside the trio down to the police station, but they were hiding guns and managed to shoot Schmidling twice before he returned fire, according to ODMP.org.

Family members of Schmidling gathered alongside first responders at St. Mary's Cemetary in Pewaukee to dedicate a new monument, according to a report by WISN12.

Gary Bach, a nephew of Schmidling and former Pewaukee police chief, told FOX6 that his uncle's monument had previously lacked his scripture or details that he was an officer killed in the line of duty.

The new monument details Schmidling as a detective with the message "Killed in the line of duty. Forever in our hearts," photos shared by the city show.

"He loved the city of Waukesha," Bach told CBS58. "He loved the department. He loved the people that he worked with, and he gave his life for them, and he would do it again."