“He was raising up with it”, Flynn said.
Advertisement
Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn said at a press conference earlier Sunday that Smith turned toward an officer with a gun in his hand. “Based on what I saw, didn’t hear, don’t know what the autopsy results are going to be, he certainly appeared to be within lawful bounds”, Flynn said of the officer.
But he added: “A young man lost his life yesterday afternoon”.
Police said the victim was fleeing a traffic stop and was holding a gun when he was shot.
Tom Barrett says 23-year-old Smith was more heavily armed than the officer.
Multiple arrests were later made in the Sherman & Burleigh area, according to police.
Milwaukee alderman Khalif Rainey, who represents the community where the violence flared, said the city’s black residents were “tired of living under this oppression”. Smith had a “lengthy arrest record” and 23 rounds in his gun, authorities said.
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. Three people were inside the gas station, but they safely escaped, police said.
State governor Scott Walker has activated the National Guard. This undated photo provided by the Milwaukee County Sheriff shows Sylville K. Smith. According to the police, a vehicle fire was also reported in the city. They depicted a chaotic scene, with police claiming that demonstrators were throwing objects and firing shots in the area while officers in tactical gear worked to quell the situation.
Officer Christopher Manny was not charged in Hamilton’s killing, but he was sacked for not following procedures.
In a statement, Milwaukee Police said of the fatal shooting, “A Milwaukee Police officer shot and killed an armed suspect fleeing from a auto on Milwaukee’s North Side”.
In addition to the businesses that were burned to the ground Saturday night, 17 people were arrested and four police injured.
“He’s got a bunch of drug arrests here, robbery, use of force”, Clarke said.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Smith was also charged in a shooting and was later charged with pressuring the victim to withdraw testimony that identified Smith as the gunman. The charges were dropped because the victim recanted the identification and failed to appear in court, Chief Deputy District Attorney Kent Lovern told the newspaper Sunday.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker took the precaution of activating the National Guard in case more violence broke out over the death of Sylville K. Smith, 23, who was shot while trying to flee from an officer who had stopped his auto.
Asked about the violence on Saturday night, Neal said: “People stuck together and they are trying to stand up”, for their rights.
Smith’s death sparked explosive protests in northern Milwaukee, a town of 600,000 where roughly 40 percent of residents are black.
Advertisement
The National Guard, which is under the dual control of the federal and state governments, was deployed in Ferguson in August 2014 after several nights of rioting over the police killing of an unarmed black man. Last December, the U.S. Justice Department announced it was conducting a review of the department.
