Boy flouts off-duty officer, tries to steal iPod right under his nose

A 16-year-old Milwaukee boy was so bent on taking an iPod from the Apple Store at Mayfair on Saturday that it took three off-duty law enforcement officers to stop him.

According to the Wauwatosa police report:

Lt. William Brown of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office was standing in line at the store so he could have his phone fixed about 3:30 p.m. When he saw the boy remove a security device from an MP3 player, he introduced himself as an off-duty officer and advised him not to take the item.

The boy refused to listen and pocketed the iPod, then he tried to leave the store. Brown attempted to restrain the boy and ended up getting punched in the face. An off-duty officer from the New Berlin Police Department, who was working as store security, and an off-duty Milwaukee police lieutenant came to Brown's assistance.

Brown refused medical treatment, but later sent Wauwatosa police pictures of his facial injuries.

The boy, who had his 7-year-old nephew with him, had a record of prior incidents of shoplifting and resisting arrest. This time, he was arrested for retail theft and battery and his case was sent to the district attorney's office for review.