Joseph Mensah Will Not Face Charges In Fatal Police Shooting: DA

WAUWATOSA, WI—Suspended Wauwatosa Police Joseph Mensah will not face charges in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Alvin Cole at the Mayfair Mall in February. Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm made the announcement Wednesday after meeting with Cole's family and attorney.

"There is sufficient evidence that Officer Mensah had an actual subjective belief that deadly force was necessary and that belief was objectively reasonable," Chisholm said in a 14-page document addressed to Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber. "I do not believe that the State could disprove self-defense or defense of others in this case and therefore could not meet the burden required to charge Officer Mensah."

The family entered the Milwaukee Safety building around 3:15 p.m. Wednesday. An email from the DA's Office was sent to Patch just before 5 p.m. announcing the decision.

Protesters held signs and chanting outside the public safety building. A portion of State Street in front of the building has been shut down.

Patch reached out to the attorney for the Cole family for comment. This story will be updated once a statement is released.

A state of emergency and a curfew has been imposed in the city of Wauwatosa. The curfew is between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. each night beginning at 7 p.m. on October 7 and ending at 6 a.m. on Monday.

Mayor and Police Chief Respond

Weber released a news release and a video on YouTube regarding the decision.

"The death of Alvin Cole on February 2nd was a tragedy, and the Wauwatosa Police
Department sympathizes with his family as they, and others, continue to grieve the loss of their
loved one. The administration of justice demands a legal and purposeful review of the facts. That
was done in this case.

Police officers are put into difficult situations that require a decision to be made in fractions of seconds. The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office has concluded that Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah’s decision to use deadly force on February 2nd was justified and reasonable according to the legal foundation of the laws of our state.

The Wauwatosa Police Department is currently conducting an internal administrative review
of the February 2nd incident to examine the performance of all Wauwatosa Police Department
personnel as it relates to the proper following of department rules, regulations, policies, and
procedures. The findings of that review, along with any action recommendations, will be reported to me, the Chief of Police.

Unrelated to this announcement today, Officer Mensah remains on administrative suspension
pending ongoing proceedings with the Wauwatosa Police and Fire Commission. The timeline for
conclusion of those proceedings is unknown at this time.

The Wauwatosa Police Department is dedicated to providing professional police service. The
department hears the message from the public, and recognizes the evolution required for law
enforcement agencies in this age. This is a time for learning. We want to do a better job of sharing
with our community what our officers do to progress our policing. Here are a few of the initiatives
we have taken, year-to-date:

• All Wauwatosa Police Department policies and procedures have been uploaded to the department’s website for public view.

• Six sworn officers have attended Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) this year. The department now has 13 CIT officers, and plans to increase that number.
• All officers are currently receiving training on implicit bias.• Testing of body-worn camera equipment has concluded, and the Wauwatosa Common

• Council has approved the purchase of body-worn cameras for all officers, with full implementation scheduled for January of 2021.

In addition to those actions, our department continues to train regularly on all unified tactics, and includes techniques and topics related to the practice of de-escalation. All of our officers know that the use of deadly force is a last resort.

Lastly, the Wauwatosa Police Department is committed to protecting this community. The United States Constitution affirms freedom of speech and the right of the people to peaceably assemble, however, civil disorder or disruption is not protected by the 1st Amendment. Our officers will always work to uphold their sworn oath of office by defending the Constitution, enforcing the statutes of Wisconsin, and the ordinances of Wauwatosa. We ask the members of our community to do their part in maintaining order and safety, and to support our efforts moving forward."

Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride recorded a YouTube message regarding the case.

Protective Measures

Mensah is currently suspended from the force. In preparation for the highly anticipated announcement, Wauwatosa and surrounding communities took protective measures should the protests surrounding the decision turn violent. Similar protests have broken out in communities around the country following decision on whether police officers will face prosecution in the killings of civilians.

In Wauwatosa, schools announced that students would engage in virtual learning for the remainder of the week. Some businesses boarded up their storefronts while the library and City Hall closed at noon. The Milwaukee County Courthouse closed at 2 p.m. Cement barricades were moved by Mayfair Mall, where Cole was killed. The mall closed four hours earlier on Wednesday.

Gov. Tony Evers also authorized the Wisconsin National Guard to assist local law enforcement in Wauwatosa.

Wauwatosa police said it was "fully prepared to protect the lives and property of all residents and businesses. Please respect the rights of all citizens, and do your part to maintain safety and order in our community."

The Peoples Revolution of Milwaukee, part of the Black Lives Matter movement, posted a message on Facebook on Tuesday in support of Cole's family.

"The Peoples Revolution stands with the family of Alvin Cole while they await the DA's decision," the group said.

Tosa Together, Indivisible Tosa and Moms Tackling Racism in Tosa released a joint statement regarding the safety measures put into place.

"We are Wauwatosa residents who are committed to working toward racial justice and addressing the history of exclusionary racist practices in our city.

We express our condolences to families of those who have lost lives to police violence, especially the Cole, Anderson, and Gonzales families.

It is with great disappointment that we see our city being closed down out of fear and distrust of what might happen. We stand for doing the hard work that it takes to build constructive relationships across differences. We also stand for an end to the structural racism and implicit bias that pervades our city and prevents real change.

Outside agitators are a concern, but the expected sharp escalation in militarized policing practices is vastly disproportionate. We need calm to prevail. A counter-productive culture of fear and
misinformation about the protesters as "outsiders" and violent has been needlessly created at a time which demands more understanding and humility. The impact of collective trauma is large in our city, and little attention has been paid to healing and restitution.

Our mayor has decided to take actions this week that show how much control the police have. They also show the escalatory tactics that our police department utilizes when controlled by fear and implicit bias against people of color.

We expected more of our city leaders. Those that did not know about the specifics of this plan shoulc have been asking more questions. Those that crafted the plan should have taken many missed opportunities to build bridges with the many groups working for racial justice in Wauwatosa. And now we need to move quickly to commit publicly to the peace and trust our city must be built on.

We emphasize our commitment to this city we call home
We call for an end to the lockdown of our city. We call for peaceful witness.
We urge trust.
We encourage police restraint and use of de-escalation training. We find the current strategies inflammatory and divisive.
We realize how this is increasing anxiety and feeds exclusionary tactics in our community.

Please join us in encouraging community members to support peaceful protest. There is no reason to believe it will not be peaceful protest. Good communication is key and so is interrupting stereotypes."

Background of the case

Mensah, the Wauwatosa police officer involved in the shooting deaths of three people of color in the last five years, appealed his suspension in September. Mensah was suspended with pay in July, but according to online court records dated Sept. 9, he is appealing the decision.

In August, The Wauwatosa Police and Fire Commission voted unanimously to move forward with pre-hearing scheduling deadlines on the pending charges filed against Mensah. The attorney representing two of the families of the shooting victims, Kimberly Motley, filed the complaint with city officials in June. Motley represents the Cole family as well as the family of Jay Anderson Jr., who was fatally shot by police in 2016.

The complaint called for Mensah's dismissal from the department, a recommendation for criminal charges against the officer, a recommendation that Wauwatosa police officers be outfitted with body cameras, and several open records requests on incidents involving the police department in prior years.

Anderson Jr. was fatally shot at Madison Park in June 2016 after an officer, later identified by officials as Mensah, responded to a report of suspicious vehicle parked outside Madison Park around 3 a.m. Reports indicated the officer encountered Anderson in possession of a gun inside the vehicle. Authorities said the officer feared for his safety and fired his gun into the car, killing Anderson. Chisholm cleared Mensah of the shooting in December 2016, saying the officer would not face any charges.

In another fatal shooting, Antonio Gonzalez was shot and killed in July 2015 by Mensah and fellow officer Jeffrey Newman after authorities said Gonzalez swung a sword and refused to drop it. Authorities determined the officers shot at Gonzalez in self-defense. Mensah and the fellow officer were cleared by prosecutors later that year.

This story is developing.