The black man whose killing by police touched off rioting in Milwaukee was shot by a black officer after turning toward him with a gun in his hand, the police chief said Sunday, as Wisconsin’s governor put the National. The police department says the handgun he was carrying when he was killed had been stolen in a March burglary. “We’ve not ascertained its status as to whether or not it was lawfully rented or stolen”, Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn said Sunday afternoon. He said Smith ran “a few dozen feet” and turned towards the officer while holding a gun.
Advertisement
Milwaukee Police Assistant Chief Bill Jessup said the exact details of the shooting were unclear, including whether the suspect shot at the officer. Police say the man was armed, but it wasn’t clear if he pointed a gun at or shot at the officer.
Police violence against black men and women has set off intermittent, sometimes violent protests in USA cities including Ferguson, Missouri, Baltimore, New York, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and St. Anthony, Minnesota, in the past two years.
Smith’s mother Mildred Haynes said he had a two-year-old son. He said 17 people were arrested, most for civil disobedience but four on burglary charges.
Flynn said that six businesses in total were set ablaze during the unrest.
City officials pleaded with parents to help prevent a repeat of the violence Sunday.
Mayor Tom Barrett called for empathy for Smith’s family.
“Let’s calm things down”, he said. He said there were no plans for a curfew but that one would be enforced if needed.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has activated the state’s National Guard to help law enforcement in Milwaukee if violence there persists. Flynn said they would not be deployed unless the chief made a decision to do so.
Mr Flynn said 150 department officers specially trained in managing large protests had also been mobilised. “This community of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has become the worst place to live for African Americans in the entire country”. “I join Milwaukee’s leaders and citizens in calling for continued peace and prayer”. A auto burns as a crowd of more than 100 people gathers following the fatal shooting of a man in Milwaukee, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016.
Within hours of the shooting, a crowd formed, skirmishing with police who had arrived in riot gear. Later, someone in the crowd reportedly fired shots in the air. When the officers got in their cars to leave, some in the crowd started smashing the windows and side of a squad vehicle. Three people were in the gas station. Three people working inside the station got out safely, police said. He said the officer had told Smith to drop the gun and he did not do so. The four injured officers were treated and released, police said.
“When I woke up this morning, there was trash and debris all over my yard”, Winn said. Where do we go from here?
Rainey said Saturday’s violence was a byproduct of inequities, injustice, unemployment and under-education. “Black people of Milwaukee are exhausted. This is the life of their children”.
Police said the male suspect was armed.
Robert and Gwen Arceneaux endured a sleepless night Sunday after noticing floodwater creeping into their home – in a neighborhood that had never seen water before.
“This is something that ISIS would do”, Marie Polk, 50, said, using an acronym for the Islamic State militant group, while gesturing toward the mess of tangled steel beams and charred white bricks.
“I know what I saw”. “And no matter what the circumstances are, his family has to be hurting”. “Our young people are just tired” of limited job opportunities, poverty and widespread imprisonment.
“I feel like if you’re going to make a difference, it’s got to be an organized difference”, Rose said.
Asked about the violence on Saturday night, Ms Neal said: “People stuck together and they are trying to stand up (for their rights)”.
Johnny Martin, 19, lives near the BP station and called Smith, who was shot, a longtime friend. He said Smith was widely known and well liked, making the shooting personal and raw for the protesters.
Smith at the scene.
Flynn added that the officer, who has not been identified, must be more fully interviewed before the video is released.
Advertisement
“There’s going to be something going on tonight”, he said. “You know the fog of war”. They’re already talking about it, messing stuff up and shooting at police.
