Officer who killed Bell running for sheriff
The Kenosha police officer who shot and killed Michael Bell Jr. in 2004 is running in next year’s election for Kenosha County sheriff.
Prosecutors never brought charges against Albert Gonzales, who shot 21year-old Bell in the head in front of his mother and sister.
But the case did result in the city paying a $1.75 million settlement to his family in a federal lawsuit, and it pushed Wisconsin to require outside law enforcement agencies to investigate officer-involved deaths.
“I’m just proud to be part of this county and I really want to contribute to the future of this county,” said Gonzalez, who filed as a Republican. “By running for sheriff I can bring a new perspective to the table and continue the growth of this county.”
Bell’s father, Michael Bell Sr., a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, has never accepted the Kenosha Police Department’s version of events and has continued battling for accountability ever since.
“We’ve seen this type of delusion before with him,” Bell Sr. said of Gonzales. “I personally think that what Gonzales just did is going to put the incident under a microscope even further and it’s going to help us magnify the problems with the Kenosha Police Department, the Kenosha Police and Fire Commission and the DA’s office.”
Gonzales’ candidacy was first reported by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth, who was first elected in 2002, has said he does not plan to run for reelection, according to the Kenosha News. Gonzales has been with the Kenosha Police Department since 1997 and is a native of Kenosha County.
He said he hoped to bring a leadership style to the sheriff ’s office that would support rank-and-file officers, especially those who worked during days of civil unrest last year after a Kenosha police officer shot Jacob Blake in the back seven times.
He said the shooting of Bell Jr. in 2004 is “all in the past. I’m not running on my past. I’m running, clearly, on the future.”
Bell Jr. was pulled over by Kenosha police in November 2004. Officers said he was uncooperative and a struggle ensued in his family’s driveway. Four officers were involved in the incident, and as Bell Jr. was held down over a car, one officer yelled “He’s got my gun.”
Gonzales then shot Bell Jr. in the head. The Police Department ruled the shooting justified and the Kenosha County district attorney at the time, Robert Jambois, didn’t issue charges.
Bell Sr. then accused the officers of excessive force and violating his son’s civil rights in a federal wrongful death lawsuit. The city settled for $1.75 million.
Gonzales has recently publicized his involvement in the shooting. In October 2020, he launched a website, called Ministry of the Badge, making himself available for public speaking engagements at church and law enforcement seminars. A video on the website shows Gonzales discussing the shooting.
Gonzales also self-published a memoir about the shooting last year titled, “A Fateful Two Minutes.” The book, which uses pseudonyms for Bell Jr. and his family, prompted a lawsuit from Bell Sr. alleging the book contains “demonstrable falsehoods and misquotes, twisted to present Mr. Bell in a false light.”
Bell Sr. said Wednesday that depositions in the lawsuit will begin next month.
Along with a retired Kenosha police detective named Russell Beckman, Bell Sr. has continued searching for an avenue to hold Gonzales accountable.
After Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley declined to launch a John Doe investigation into the shooting in 2017, Bell and Beckman filed a grievance with the Office of Lawyer Regulation — an agency of the state Supreme Court.
The grievance alleges Graveley acted with dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation in his decision not to launch the investigation.
A John Doe investigation is similar to a grand jury investigation, but it is overseen by a judge, rather than a jury.
The Office of Lawyer Regulation in May wrote to Beckman saying there was insufficient evidence to support an allegation of misconduct. Beckman then filed a 107-page response with additional information in July, and the office agreed to review the matter again.
Graveley said Wednesday he was not worried about the review into his conduct.
“I think any time anybody provides additional material that it should be looked at,” he said. “They’re again going to find there’s no merit.”