Joseph Mensah, the Wauwatosa police officer who shot and killed 17-year-old Alvin Cole outside of a Wisconsin mall, will not face criminal charges.
Milwaukee County District Attorney John T. Chisholm said there was “sufficient evidence” show the officer believed deadly force was necessary and “that belief was objectively reasonable.”
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. With this I conclude my criminal review of the matter.
On February 2, police responded to a disturbance call outside of a Wauwatosa mall.
According to Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber, Cole fired a gun before Officer Mensah returned fire.
In his report, DA Chisholm stated Alvin Cole had stolen a 9 mm pistol while he was at the mall and pulled on another person during an argument.
He was encountered by Wauwatosa Police officers in the parking lot of Mayfair Mall, ran from the police, discharged the firearm and was ordered to surrender the weapon. He did not surrender the weapon and was fired upon by Officer Mensah causing his death.
Kim Motley, an attorney for Cole’s family and the families of two other people who have been killed by Officer Mensah, wants him fired.
He is still getting paid. He’s suspended with pay, and he needs to be removed as an officer immediately. We do not have to wait for a hearing. It can happen today, right now.
Protests have erupted in the wake of the DA’s decision not to charge Joseph Mensah for the shooting death of Alvin Cole.
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Source: CNN
