Protests are already erupting after a black police officer was acquitted in the shooting death of a black teenager in suburban Milwaukee.
Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm determined that “there is sufficient evidence” that the officer “had an actual subjective belief that deadly force was necessary and that belief was objectively reasonable.”
Police say a fight broke out in a suburban Milwaukee mall in February, prompting mall security to escort about 10 people from the property. A witness to the fight contacted police, reporting one of the youths involved in the fight, 17-year-old Alvin Cole, was in possession of a handgun. When police arrived, Cole fled the scene on foot as officers gave chase. Police say Cole then fired his handgun at officers before being fatally shot by Wauwatosa Officer Joseph Mensah.
Cole’s family has disputed that he shot the gun and called on Mensah to be fired. The Wauwatosa Police and Fire Commission suspended Mensah with pay in July, drawing an appeal from the officer.
Wauwatosa officers are not equipped with body cameras, but the city did release dashcam video of the shooting. However, Cole’s family claims the video is inconclusive.
Cole is the third person fatally shot by Mensah in the line of duty. Mensah was not charged after shooting Jay Anderson Jr. in 2016 or in the 2015 fatal shooting of Antonio Gonzales. Mensah shot Gonzales eight times after he refused to drop a sword. He shot Anderson six times after approaching his parked car while Anderson was sleeping, claiming he saw a gun and thought Anderson was reaching for it.
The incident sparked protests in the Wauwatosa area all summer, some of which turned violent. In August, police charged two men involved in an altercation during protests after a shotgun was fired.
Wauwatosa officials prepared for the possibility of more protests after the charging decision, shutting down City Hall and the library earlier Wednesday. Shortly after Mensah’s acquittal, protesters had already taken to the streets and started to overwhelm police. Wisconsin National Guard trucks have started moving toward the city in anticipation of the protests.
The protests come amid other high-profile deaths of black people at the hands of police. The deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, sparked nationwide protests. In Kenosha, Wisconsin, the police shooting of Jacob Blake resulted in similar unrest.
