ACLU Of WI Criticizes Mensah Hire For Waukesha County Deputy

WAUKESHA, WI—The ACLU of Wisconsin criticized the hiring of Joseph Mensah as a Waukesha County sheriff's deputy. Joseph Mensah, the former Wauwatosa police officer involved in three fatal police shootings, was sworn in as a deputy with the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office.

Chris Ott, executive director of the ACLU of Wisconsin, said:

“The decision by the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department to hire Joseph Mensah is shocking, irresponsible, and disrespectful to the community. Securing some measure of accountability for Officer Mensah took months of sustained action from community members. Officer Mensah reportedly received $125,000 from the WPD budget to leave the Wauwatosa Police Department. For him to simply relocate and get the same kind of job with another department is disheartening and dangerous. Law enforcement cannot establish trust with the people they are supposed to serve if they embrace officers who repeatedly undermine it.”

“Although the Milwaukee County District Attorney brought no charges against Mensah in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Alvin Cole last year, former U.S. attorney Steven Biskupic, who was hired by the Wauwatosa Police and Fire Commission, said that Mensah should be fired from his position because there was an ‘extraordinary risk’ that Mensah would be involved in a fourth fatal shooting should he keep his job.”

“It is hard to fathom why the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office has chosen to put its community at such an extraordinary risk by taking on Mensah as a deputy. After seeing such deep and recent concern across the entire country about the systemic need for police accountability, it’s hard to understand the logic behind this example of just the opposite.”

Mensah was given nearly $130,000 as part of a separation agreement with Wauwatosa and resigned on Nov. 30, according to city documents.

The documents show that the city agreed certain pay and benefits shall be payable to Mensah, including the following:

• All pay earned and not paid through the date of resignation.
• All earned unused and unpaid accrued vacation ($3,687.22), accruing vacation ($4,224.94), overtime ($2,421.66) and professional leave ($322.63).
• Severance payments equivalent to 13 months' pay (through Dec. 31, 2021), minus appropriate payroll tax deductions required by law and Mensah's share of the cost of COBRA health insurance continuation.
• Deferred compensation plan of $19,500.
• A one-time additional severance payment of $15,000, minus appropriate payroll tax deductions required by law, to be made on the city pay date of Dec. 17.

The current annual pay for a Wauwatosa police officer ranges from $56,844 to $79,889, according to the city's website.

Mensah was involved in the shooting deaths of three people of color in the last five years.

Mensah fatally shot Jay Anderson Jr. at Madison Park in June 2016 after Mensah responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle parked there at about 3 a.m. Mensah reportedly found Anderson with a gun inside the car. Mensah fired and killed Anderson after fearing for his safety, authorities said. Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm said he would not bring any charges against Mensah.

Mensah also fatally shot Antonio Gonzalez in July 2015. He and fellow officer Jeffrey Newman encountered Gonzalez swinging a sword, which he refused to drop when ordered, authorities said. Both officers shot Gonzalez in what authorities later determined was self-defense. Prosecutors cleared both Mensah and Newman of criminal liability later in the year.

Mensah learned in early October that he would not face charges in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Alvin Cole at the Mayfair Mall last February.