Families file complaint against officer in shootings
Mensah has shot, killed on duty twice before most recent death
Attorneys for the families of Alvin Cole and Jay Anderson Jr., who were fatally shot by the same Wauwatosa police officer, filed a complaint against the officer Thursday.
The families are calling for police officer Joseph Mensah to be fired.
The attorneys are also requesting that every Wauwatosa police officer be equipped with a body camera.
“We are going to do everything legally that we can do to make sure that the Cole family gets the justice that they deserve, and that the Anderson family gets the justice that they deserve,” attorney Kimberley Motley said.
After dropping off the complaint at Wauwatosa City Hall, a group of more than 50 protesters gathered inside the Wauwatosa Police Department, demanding that Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber meet with the Anderson and Cole families.
A police captain told Motley that Weber was “unavailable at this time.” However, he gave the attorney a phone number to set up a meeting with the Cole and Anderson families, as protesters loudly chanted “fire Chief Weber.”
Protesters stayed inside the police station for more than 30 minutes, chanting the names of Jay Anderson Jr., Alvin Cole and Antonio Gonzalez — the three individuals Mensah fatally shot in the line of duty.
Protesters traveled to the Mayfair mall, where Alvin Cole’s sister, Taleavia, approached patrons seated outdoors at a Cheesecake Factory. Cole was shot in the parking lot of the restaurant.
Taleavia Cole implored the customers to leave, and some did as demonstrators clapped.
The mother of Antonio Gonzales, who was fatally shot by Mensah and another officer in 2015, spoke after Taleavia Cole.
“I need justice today,” she said. “Not after almost five years, I need it today.”
The two earlier shootings had been deemed justified self-defense. Prosecutors did not charge the officer, nor was he disciplined internally.
Milwaukee police are leading the investigation into the Cole shooting. The case remains under review by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.
According to initial information provided by Wauwatosa police, Cole, 17, fired one shot with a stolen gun before an officer returned fire on Feb. 2.
Cole’s family disputes the teen fired a gun during the encounter.
Motley filed an open records request asking for the department’s policy on the use of deadly force, as well as for Mensah’s personnel records.
Motley also said Mensah should be criminally prosecuted for the deaths of Anderson and Cole.
Taleavia Cole has attended several marches and protests in and around Wauwatosa in recent weeks to bring attention to the shootings.
“I miss everything about him,” she said during a news conference Thursday. “He can’t achieve his goals and dreams, that’s why we’re here, we’re gonna live them for him.”
Cole’s family also held a news conference on June 11, after a meeting with Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisolm.
Motley said she presented new evidence to Chisolm, though she didn’t elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation.
“We think the evidence that we provided further supports our position that officer Mensah should be charged with some type of homicide, and also that officer Mensah should be fired, at a minimum, from the Wauwatosa Police Department,” Motley said.
Calls for justice
Weber did not return a reporter’s call to respond to the calls for his removal and Mensah from the department. However, in a recent interview, Weber addressed the protests.
“If the district attorney says (Mensah) was authorized to do what he did, based on the circumstances, what’s the justification to fire a police officer?” Weber said.
An internal review of the Cole shooting will begin after the district attorney’s office makes a charging decision, and all related reports from prosecutors and Milwaukee police are provided to Wauwatosa police, Capt. Brian Zalewski said.
“When people ask for justice, justice is the review process, as painstakingly slow as it is,” Weber said.
“In each of the cases involving officer Mensah, those Mensah encountered were armed with weapons,” Weber said in a news release.
Weber said the department updated their use of force policy recently, and put it into effect June 5.
Weber also expressed concerns about the budget and the department getting body cameras, but he said there’s a possibility to “phase” the body cameras in.
“If we can do that, if we can somehow fund this, I’m sure and I’m hopeful that the elected officials will be more receptive to it this year,” he said.