Bowen: No one tried to kill Officer Mensah
Wauwatosa chief says investigation continues
State Rep. David Bowen claims Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah fabricated elements of violence outside his home on Saturday night.
Bowen’s comments Monday challenged key statements made by Mensah and the Wauwatosa Police Department about the incident, which has raised the ire of neighbors and others.
Protests have occurred around Wauwatosa and at Mensah’s home over the last several weeks as calls for the officer’s firing continue in the aftermath of his third fatal shooting in five years.
But Saturday’s incident garnered significant attention after Mensah wrote on Facebook the protesters tried to kill him and said he and his girlfriend were both assaulted, punched and shot at several times. He said “a shotgun round missed me by inches.”
In a news release Sunday, the Wauwatosa Police Department said Mensah was physically assaulted by protesters and a protester fired a single gunshot into Mensah’s home.
Bowen, who was at the protest, said Mensah’s and the Police Department’s claims are not true and he wrote in a news release that Mensah “can not be trusted to tell the truth.”
Bowen said no protester fired at Mensah during the protest, which involved 50 to 60 people outside Mensah’s Wauwatosa home. Bowen and other protesters said they were provoked by Mensah before the physical altercation that took place outside his home.
“It was very clearly communicated, as we were trying to figure out what happened, that it was Joseph Mensah, in that tussle, that turned off the safety on that firearm, and pulled the trigger,” Bowen said in an interview with the Journal Sentinel on Monday.
The Wauwatosa Police Department said the investigation is ongoing but wrote in a Monday news release that the facts do not support Bowen’s comments.
According to a protester, the protest started at Mayfair mall Saturday afternoon. Soon after, the group marched to a nearby Target, and several protesters bought toilet paper there. They arrived at Mensah’s private residence around 8 p.m.
A protester who witnessed the events, who didn’t want their name used in the story for fear of backlash from police, said Mensah was already in his front yard when protesters arrived. The protester said silly string, toilet paper and caution tape were used to vandalize his property. Video from a neighbor shows the group toilet papering the home.
Kristin Belkofer, who lives half a block away from Mensah, said she saw
protesters enter the area around 8 p.m. She said they were driving slowly and honking. A few minutes later, she said she started to hear loud noises.
“To me, it kind of sounded like fireworks,” Belkofer said.
She then said she saw cars and protesters speeding away from the area.
“It certainly looked like they (protesters) were freaked out,” she said.
Several neighbors near the home heard a protester with a megaphone tell other protesters to leave and that someone had a shotgun.
Wauwatosa police squad cars were parked outside the home Sunday and Monday. On Monday morning, several investigators combed through Mensah’s backyard as well as examined Mensah’s back door, which is where police say the protester fired the shotgun.
Mensah was back at the home Monday morning, examining the back door that police say was damaged from the gunshot.
The removal of Mensah from the Police Department has been the focal point of multiple protests locally. He was suspended with pay in July by the Wauwatosa Police and Fire Commission after a citizen complaint was filed against him.
Mensah’s fatal shooting of Alvin Cole on Feb. 2 outside Mayfair mall is still under investigation. The shootings of Antonio Gonzales in 2015 and Jay Anderson Jr. in 2016 were deemed justified self-defense by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.
Wauwatosa officials said they are taking steps to ensure the safety of Mensah following the incident Saturday. This is not the first time protesters were at his home.
Mensah’s attorney, Jonathan Cermele, told the Journal Sentinel he will respond to Bowen’s claims on Tuesday.