Wauwatosa, Wisconsin police officer, Joseph Mensah, shot 17-year-old Alvin Cole outside Mayfair Mall on February 2, 2020, after police responded to a reported disturbance at the shopping center.
Mensah stated that Cole was running with a stolen 9 mm handgun that he wouldn’t surrender.
So basically the young boy was running away, did not listen to commands to drop the gun, and he was shot and killed.
Today, it was determined that no charges will be filed against Officer Mensah. Cole is the third person Mensah has fatally shot since he became a police officer. Mensah was also not charged in the 2016 death of Jay Anderson Jr. or the 2015 death of Antonio Gonzales.
In 2015, Mensah shot Antonio Gonzales eight times after he refused to drop a sword. In 2016, Mensah approached a parked car where Anderson was sleeping, said he saw a gun and thought Anderson was reaching for it, so he shot him…. six times. Mensah was suspended with pay in July but he appealed the suspension.
The Commissioner hired former U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic to investigate the case and make a recommendation as to what discipline Mensah should face. In a report released Wednesday, Biskupic recommended that Mensah be fired, stating the risk that he might shoot a fourth person is too great.
Alvin Cole’s death has sparked periodic protests in Wauwatosa and the surrounding Milwaukee area. Gov. Tony Evers announced earlier Wednesday that he had activated National Guard members as a precaution, though he didn’t say how many or how they were being used.
