Although the initial shooting that touched off the violence is the focus of a state inquiry, officials in Milwaukee, as required by law, have signaled that they believe the 24-year-old police officer was justified when he opened fire and killed Sylville K. Smith, 23.
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An 18-year-old man was shot and wounded during Sunday night’s unrest, which was far less destructive than Saturday night’s confrontation but still left the city tense.
The city’s police chief said Smith, 23, was shot and killed by a black police officer Saturday afternoon after he turned toward the officer with a gun in his hand.
On Saturday night, six businesses were torched and some individuals in the streets began throwing items at police vehicles and shooting firearms.
Little is known about the one person who was shot at a protest Sunday evening; police retrieved that victim in an armored vehicle and took him or her to the hospital.
Mayor Tom Barrett said the officer who shot the man Saturady was wearing a body camera and footage of the shooting would be released later.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker had activated the National Guard on Sunday in case more trouble flared over Smith’s death, the latest demonstrations over the use of force by police against minorities. State law that requires police shootings to be investigated by an independent state agency gives the state control over such evidence. Check back for updates. At least four buildings, including a bank, were burned and one officer was hurt during the unrest. About an hour later, police had arrested several protesters after they refused to leave the area.
Police Chief Edward Flynn said Smith was shot after he turned toward an officer with a gun in his hand. But what clearly emerged from reports of the protests was that residents of Sherman Park, a mostly black community, expressed anger over what they saw as years of oppressive policing. Squad cars were pelted with bricks, rocks and bottles.
“The (communist group) showed up, and actually they’re the ones who started to cause problems”, Flynn said at a news conference Monday.
Bullets struck an armored police vehicle’s windshield, and a rock broke through a police auto windshield, sending glass fragments into the eyes of two officers, the chief said.
“I’m hopeful that that will not be necessary”, Barrett said. Smith was hit in the chest and arm, Flynn said.
It was a shot heard around the city, and fury swept through Milwaukee. The chief said Smith was armed with a gun and pointed it at the officer.
Police have not released the footage to the public.
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Flynn also said that officers came under fire Sunday but that no officers returned fire. Stanmeyer said he had an arrest record, and that the handgun he carried had been stolen in a March burglary in suburban Waukesha.
