Tensions rise again in Milwaukee with one person shot in the neighborhood where the fatal shooting of a suspect by a police officer touched off rioting and arson the previous night. The officer involved in the shooting is 24 years old and a six-year veteran of the force, police said.
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A police officer shot and killed a man Saturday afternoon.
Police responded in riot gear about 11 p.m.to break up a crowd after protesters allegedly began throwing objects.
“My son is gone due to the police killing my son”, a distraught Mildred Haynes told the Journal Sentinel on Sunday. They also did not document any looting or arson committed throughout the night.
The violence came after an unnamed 23-year-old man was shot dead while trying to flee from police at a traffic stop.
Violent unrest continued in Milwaukee late Sunday and early Monday morning, a second night of tension after a fatal police shooting over the weekend.
“Based on what I saw, didn’t hear, don’t know what the autopsy results are going to be, (the officer) certainly appeared to be within lawful bounds”. The paper reported that man was struck once in his chest and once in the arm.
In addition to the businesses damaged, 17 people were arrested and four police injured, although all had been released from hospital, Flynn said. Officers used an armored vehicle to retrieve the injured man and take him to a hospital. His gun was loaded with 23 rounds, more than the officer was carrying.
Sylville Smith, the man whose police shooting death sparked the unrest over the weekend.
“What happened tonight may not have been right and I am not justifying that but no one can deny the fact that there are problems, racial problems in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that need to be rectified”, Rainey said. Several businesses were burned down in the protests that stretched into Sunday morning, leading Gov. Scott Walker to activate National Guard troops in case violence persists.
One of the family members of Sylville K. Smith attends a candlelight vigil at a site where Smith was shot and killed Saturday by Milwaukee Police, Aug. 14, 2016.
Aiming to reassure the community that the police acted properly, Chief Edward Flynn said on Sunday that video from the officer’s body camera showed Smith had turned toward him with a gun in his hand.
Police said one person was shot Sunday night in the Sherman Park area, which has been the center of the demonstrations, and officers said they used an armored vehicle to get to that person. He also said that police were concerned about the officer’s safety and that he was with relatives outside Milwaukee.
Though he can’t comment on specific plans concerning the possible employment of units, Thompson says, “Working with the Executive Office and civil authorities is an ongoing process and that the Wisconsin National Guard stands ready to support civilian law enforcement, if called upon”.
It was not immediately clear if there were arrests Sunday night.
“This city has watched this particular neighborhood – through the entire summer – be a powder keg”, Rainey says in the news conference. “Where do we go as a community from here?” he asked. “The black people of Milwaukee are exhausted; they are exhausted of living under this oppression”.
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Shortly after 7 a.m. CST, people were showing up at the scene to pitch in on the cleanup, some even crossed the police tape into the gas station, which was not being guarded by police, and started picking up trash. “In December, the U.S. Justice Department announced that it would work with Milwaukee police on reforms”.
