Joseph Mensah: Special Prosecutors Appointed In Fatal Shooting

WAUWATOSA, WI — A Milwaukee judge named special prosecutors to handle the case of former Wauwatosa police Officer Joseph Mensah in the 2016 fatal shooting of Jay Anderson Jr.

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Glenn Yamahiro on Wednesday appointed current La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke and Scott Hansen, a lawyer at Milwaukee-based Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, who normally handles civil cases.

The special prosecutors will determine whether to charge Mensah in Anderson's shooting, which occurred in Madison Park in June 2016 after Mensah responded to a report of a suspicious car. Mensah encountered Anderson and found him in possession of a handgun, police said at the time.

The interaction led to Mensah shooting and killing Anderson while he was sitting in his car, police added.

Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm cleared Mensah in the shooting saying the officer would not face any charges.

Yamahiro in July found probable cause to charge Mensah with homicide with a dangerous weapon.

The special prosecutors will have 60 days to review the case before deciding whether to charge Mensah.

Yamahiro ruled that the case should be re-examined after Anderson's family asked for a "John Doe" proceeding, which examines any felony committed by a law enforcement officer while on duty.

Mensah left the Wauwatosa Police Department in November 2020. He was later sworn in as a deputy for the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office in January 2021.

Mensah will continue his assignment as a detective within the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department as the case proceeds, Waukesha County Sheriff Eric Severson said in a statement.
The Milwaukee County district attorney previously cleared Mensah in three separate fatal shootings, with the most recent one being in 2020.