Police fatally shot a man Tuesday about a mile from the main venue of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, CNN affiliate WISN reported.
Witnesses told the station that two men were fighting in a local park when one of them pulled out a knife. Witnesses said the men were surprised when officers intervened and the man with the knife was shot by several officers, WISN reported, adding that those details had not been confirmed by police.
Witnesses who spoke at a news conference with local activists near the scene of the shooting said they did not see any knives during the altercation between two men before the fatal police shooting. A family member identified the man shot as Samuel Sharpe Jr. and said he was a homeless veteran in his 40s.
The officers involved were from the Columbus, Ohio, Division of Police, according to a statement from the Fraternal Order of Police posted on social media.
“No officers were injured, but the condition of the suspect is currently unknown,” the statement said.
The Ohio agency is among several police departments from multiple cities and jurisdictions in Milwaukee helping to secure the RNC site, the statement continued.
Columbus Police Division Chief Elaine R. Bryant released a 31-second video Tuesday night, edited and partially blurred, showing officers briefing each other before focusing on an altercation involving two men nearby.
They immediately point their guns and run toward the altercation, yelling at the man, previously identified as Sharpe, to drop his weapon, the video shows.
Sharpe appears to be walking toward the other man when the officers fire their weapons and Sharpe falls, the video shows.
Bryant said in the statement that Sharpe was “threatening” the other person before the shots were fired by officers.
“It’s not even been two days since the RNC started and we already have one victim. How is this possible?” activist Alan Chavoya said at the press conference. “As always, no response from the MPD, no transparency, no accountability.”
In a statement, the ACLU of Wisconsin called for a “full and transparent” investigation into what led to the shooting and the “prompt release” of the body camera video.
This article has been updated with comments from the Columbus Police Division chief and details from the video that showed the shooting.
News Source : www.cnn.com
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