Ohio police officers in Wisconsin for the Republican National Convention shot and killed a Milwaukee man on July 16, fueling anger from residents who questioned why out-of-state officers were in their neighborhood located about a mile from the convention site.
The man was shot by five officers with the Columbus, Ohio, police department, according to a statement released by that city’s police division. Thousands of officers from multiple jurisdictions are in Milwaukee providing additional security for the convention that began July 15 and concludes on July 18.
The Columbus Police Department, as well as the chief of staff for Milwaukee’s mayor and a spokeswoman for the convention’s joint command center, all said there was nothing to suggest the shooting was related to the convention itself.
Milwaukee residents and activists quickly converged on the site of the shooting, many of them expressing outrage about the involvement of a police department in town because of the convention.
Dozens of police officers stood behind police tape at the scene, declining to answer questions about what had happened.
“They came into our community and shot down our family right here at a public park,” said Linda Sharpe, a cousin of the man who was killed. “What are you doing in our city, shooting people down?”
Sharpe said her cousin, who she identified as Samuel Sharpe, lived in a tent encampment across the street from King Park, where the shooting occurred.
Residents said the man was well known among locals and others who lived in and near the encampment.
Kenneth Johnson, a volunteer with Friends Without Shelter, said he often dropped off food to the man and others who lived in the tents, and questioned what an out-of-state officer had been doing at the location.
“They shouldn’t have jurisdiction to be in this area. This isn’t near where the zones are,” Johnson said. “These are tent communities over here, they shouldn’t be over here.”
The Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression held a vigil for Sharpe at the corner of 17th and Vliet.
“Several police officers from Columbus, Ohio shot and killed an unhoused man, Samuel Sharpe, in King Park. Sharpe was an unhoused veteran in his 40s, who was failed by Milwaukee’s piecemeal social services. These police officers should never have been at King Park to begin with, as the park is half a mile from the soft security zone for the RNC,” the group said in a statement.
In an anonymously leaked video which appeared to be street surveillance footage, two individuals can be seen walking backward from a green space into Vliet Street. They both stood in the middle of the south lane for a few moments, when one person suddenly dropped to the ground.
From the distance and video quality, it could not be determined if either individual was holding a weapon. It was unclear what interaction took place between the two men, before the first individual fell after taking what looked like at least one gunshot. That individual was then initially surrounded by six law enforcement officers in the road.
The Milwaukee Alliance did note that Sharpe had been holding a knife, but was backing away from fully armed officers. They called his death “a mismatch of force.”
Body camera footage released to the media did not conclusively show Sharpe holding a knife due to its grainy quality. The video segment began with 13 Ohio police officers briefing each other on the day’s activities, as they stood by their bicycles in the King Park parking lot.
A couple of the officers then saw two men, an estimated 150 feet away, engaged in some altercation. One of the men was armed with two knives, who lunged at the other unarmed man. The entire group of officers then began yelling for the individual to stop and drop the knife, as they ran across the parking space.
From the time that Ohio law enforcement officers yelled for the man – who was later identified as Sharpe – to stop and drop his knife, to the moment Sharpe was shot by multiple rounds, lasted only 10 seconds.
Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman did confirm that Sharpe had a knife in each hand and was involved in an altercation with another unarmed person.
“Someone’s life was in danger,” Chief Norman said. “These officers, who were not from this area, took it upon themselves to act and save someone’s life today.”
Mayor Cavalier Johnson said later at a press briefing that he was saddened by the death, and then referred to the police body camera footage.
“The information we have leaves a clear impression that these Columbus officers, they saved the life of an unarmed man from death or perhaps serious injury,” Mayor Johnson said.
In a statement, the Columbus Police Department said the shooting was “within the operational zone to which our officers were assigned.”
The Columbus Police Department has received attention because of its special unit deployed to Milwaukee that works to improve police-community relationships and had a visible role in guiding the largely uneventful protests on July 15.
The shooting happened near King Park, roughly a mile from the convention center, where a small group of protesters gathered before marching on July 15. That demonstration was followed by dozens of Columbus police officers, wearing blue vests that read: “Columbus Police Dialogue.”
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office said an adult male was shot and killed. An autopsy was scheduled for July 17.
