Milwaukee Suspect Cites Sheriff's Gun Control Ad as Defense

Posted at: 01/29/2013 5:28 PM
Updated at: 01/29/2013 5:43 PM

MILWAUKEE (AP) - A Milwaukee woman accused of firing a gun says the sheriff said it was OK for her to arm herself.

Police approached 36-year-old Makisha Cooper Saturday about firing a gun. Cooper told police she heard Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke Jr. on the radio "that she could own a gun to protect herself."

Clarke aired a radio ad last week telling Milwaukee-area residents not to count on a rapid police response to 911 calls and instead to take a gun safety course.

Cooper told police she fired a gun once outside a house after getting into a fight with her niece.

In a statement, the sheriff says "there is no parallel" between this case and what he said.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (http://bit.ly/119YjO7) reports Cooper is charged with two misdemeanor counts.

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Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com

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