BY CHIEF P.K. JOHNSON
MILLBROOK POLICE DEPARTMENT
TOP PHOTO: THIS IS A DRIVERS LICENSE PHOTO. HIS MUGSHOT HAS NOW BEEN ADDED TO THIS ARTICLE AS WELL AT RIGHT.
On Thursday, February 24, 2022, at approximately 12:10 PM, Millbrook police responded to the 4100 Block of Oliver Drive with regard to shots fired. While in route Millbrook 911 received multiple calls with regard to an individual had been shot in that area. Responding officers located a 26-year-old male suffering from an apparent gunshot wound(s), at the intersection of Oliver Drive and Mamie Drive.
Millbrook fire rescue units responded to the scene to provide treatment to the victim. The victim was pronounced deceased at the scene. It was later determined that the victim had been shot at a nearby residence, in the 4100 block of Oliver Drive. The scene was turned over to the Millbrook Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit.
Pursuant to the preliminary investigation Millbrook detectives were able to identify a suspect in this case, who was later identified as the offender that shot the victim. The alleged offender, Jamiah Marquis Burke, a 23-year-old Millbrook resident, was taken into custody without incident, at the Millbrook Police Department. Burke was placed under arrest, being charged with Murder. Burke was processed and later transported to the Elmore County Jail, where he will remain under no bond pending a warrant being obtained and served.
We are still in the very preliminary stages of this case, so I am limited in what I’m able to comment on at this time. While I am extremely pleased to announce that an arrest has been made in this case, I am disgusted that our society, especially young people, are so willing to engage in this type of senseless violent behavior. That notwithstanding, a certain segment of our society will not only accept it, they make excuses for it.
As I stood at this crime scene today, I spoke with numerous people that had either witnessed this violent act take place or had valuable information pertinent to this case, as did our officers and investigators. Very few people offered to share that knowledge, which is all too often the case when these crimes occur.
I observed this young man take his last breath, heard people crying, threats of retaliation being made, thinking Why! Why do people have so little value for human life. Why are young people so willing to pick up a gun and end a life. And most importantly, why do we, as law enforcement, have to continue to respond to scenes like today, investigate these crimes, locate and apprehend suspects, only to have them released prior to the end of their sentence and in many cases continue to commit similar crimes.
Unfortunately, I can only answer the last question. We, as law enforcement officers, make a conscious decision each day to leave our families, at great risk to our safety, because somebody has to stand between those that would do our citizens harm and our citizens, the overwhelming majority of which are hardworking people, who are just trying to raise their families and live productive lives. Law enforcement will continue to stand on that line, but we need help. We need more cooperation from our citizens, especially when events like today occur.
We need our churches and civic organizations to get more involved with our young people. We need our legislators to work with law enforcement, prosecutors and the judicial system to make it harder for these violent offenders to get out of jail when they’ve been arrested and imprisoned when they’ve been successfully prosecuted, particularly when they have a history of committing violent crimes. I’ve heard it said for many years, society will become that which it tolerates and from my vantage point, we tolerate entirely too much!
If it sounds like I’m frustrated, it’s because I am. I had to look at a mother and family members and tell them their loved one is gone. While I’ve done that entirely too many times in my 34 years in this career, it doesn’t get any easier with time. I have instructed our police officers to be highly visible in the area where this offense occurred.
I want to be clear, an arrest has been made in this case. We strongly discourage any retaliatory actions and will be proactively patrolling these areas, should anyone be contemplating such activity. This type of violent behavior has no place in our city.
