Milwaukee was beset by protests and calls for police reform after an officer shot and killed Dontre Hamilton, a mentally ill black man, in 2014.
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“Those individuals, in my mind, are deliberately trying to damage a great neighbourhood in a great city”, Barrett said.
A city-wide curfew for teenagers began late on Monday at 10 p.m. (0300 GMT).
“After 10 o’clock, your teenagers better be home or in a place where they’re off the streets”, Mayor Tom Barrett warned earlier in the day. “It’s not the place you go to drive your vehicle around right now”.
Police Chief Edward Flynn says 23-year-old Sylville Smith ran from a vehicle after it was stopped for what authorities described as suspicious behavior.
Local church groups also joined the protesters in holding a prayer for the neighborhood, where police shot and killed 23-year-old Sylville Smith, who was trying to flee from two police officers that had stopped his auto.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker put Wisconsin’s National Guard on standby, and 125 Guard members reported to local armories to prepare for further instructions. “Subjectively there’s been less tonight than there was last night”, he said. When asked about the monitoring of social media, Flynn said there is a lot of “speculative narratives” being used to motivate people to take to the streets.
The National Guard was activated upon a request by Sheriff David A. Clarke, after at least four businesses were torched, several police cars badly damaged and many others set ablaze. But the Wisconsin Department of Justice has the video and is reviewing the shooting, so releasing it might take time, Flynn said.
Smith’s death comes amid nationwide tensions over police use of force – which has spurred protests but also deadly violence against officers. Six arrests were made after some “heated confrontations” but there was no destruction of property or rioting, Flynn said. The spokesman said that authorities continued to seek suspects in the shooting, which happened at about 11 p.m.
Because the audio from the video was delayed, the police chief said, it was unclear when the officer fired his weapon.
At a candlelight vigil Sunday night, Smith’s sister, Kimberly Neal, 24, said the family wanted prosecutors to charge the officer who shot him.
Smith’s death was just the latest in a string of shootings involving police and black men to spark demonstrations and protests. Smith, who fled the auto, was shot by police after refusing to drop the handgun he was holding, according Milwaukee Mayor Barrett.
Last year, a total of 990 people were fatally shot by police in the US, according to the Post.
A nighttime curfew was imposed for teenagers in the US city of Milwaukee starting on Monday following two nights of violence over the fatal police shooting of a black man.
In addition to the businesses that were burned to the ground Saturday night, 17 people were arrested and four police injured. He also said that officials had spoken to the city attorney’s office to be prepared in case they decide a “more widespread curfew” is needed.
City officials also say some of the people protesting in recent days weren’t from Milwaukee. The mayor said the city’s ShotSpotter technology, which tracks gunshots, registered 30 shots overnight.
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“We have unrest happening in the city and we want peace”.
