Three Milwaukee police officers who left a naked, bleeding 14-year-old boy with Jeffrey L. Dahmer showed bad judgment but didn't commit a crime, the state's top law enforcement official said.
"While in hindsight we wish the officers had handled the encounter with Dahmer differently, we are firm in our belief that they cannot be criminally prosecuted for their actions," Attorney General James Doyle said Thursday.Neighbors called police after seeing Konerak Sinthasomphone, a Laotian boy, running naked, incoherent and bleeding from Dahmer's apartment on May 27, two months before the mutilated bodies of 11 men were found there.
Patrolmen John A. Balcerzak, 34, Joseph Gabrish, 28, and Richard Porubcan, 25, questioned Dahmer, then left, accepting his explanation that the boy was 19, intoxicated and that the two were homosexual lovers, records showed.
One officer dismissed a witness who called police again later, insisting that the boy was in danger, police recordings indicate.
Dahmer, 31, has said he killed the boy as soon as the officers left.
The three officers were suspended July 26 and have been charged with departmental violations for not thoroughly investigating the incident.
Police Chief Philip Arreola said Thursday that Doyle's ruling didn't exonerate the officers and won't influence possible departmental discipline. He said he will make a ruling soon after interviewing the patrolmen next week.