Here & Now

Wauwatosa Officer Free of Charges

Frederica Freyberg:

The Milwaukee County District Attorney this week decided not to criminally charge a Wauwatosa police officer with shooting and killing 17-year-old Alvin Cole outside Mayfair Mall in February. The officer has shot and killed three people in the line of duty in five years. D.A. John Chisholm stated Cole did not surrender a weapon and was shot about Officer Joseph Mensah. Chisholm said there is sufficient evidence the officer had an actual subjective belief that deadly force was necessary and that belief was objectively reasonable. An independent investigator hired by the city said the officer should be fired. Marisa Wojik reports on reactions opposed to Chisholm’s decision.

Marisa Wojik:

On Wednesday, Alvin Cole’s family called and their attorney for Officer Joseph Mensah to be fired and criminally charged.

Tracy Cole:

At this time Chisholm did not justify my son’s murder by Joseph Mensah.

Kimberly Motley:

Chisholm did not say the shooting was justified and that’s really important because normally for these things if he believes that, he will say that.

Marisa Wojik:

Protestors in Milwaukee walked the streets Thursday for what they say is yet another miscarriage of justice.

Khalil Coleman:

When the facts have been presented that Officer Joseph Mensah acted on his own accord and not in policy and not in procedure of Wauwatosa Police Department or even in the best integrity as a police officer. That’s very concerning for us to have a district attorney who’s been in place for 20 years who is supposed to be an expert at these type of things to render no criminal charges and he is still finds the shooting unjustified. That’s very concerning for us and that’s definitely not justice.

David Bowen:

It is very clear when you are advocating for systemic change you should expect that system to give you every bit of resistance and opposition, to really shift the foundation of that system and we know that currently our system of public safety, our system of policing is not accountable to black lives. It’s not accountable to the black community and we’re doing everything we can to make that shift.

Darius Hayes:

I think that Officer Mensah was not fit for duty after the first shooting. And now there has been two more since then and it is just time. It’s time. The people are tired and they gonna make their voices known and they’re not gonna stop until our officials listen to the people.