Milwaukee calm sought as police killing fuels riots
Print Edition
SIMMERING anger over the fatal shooting of a man by police erupted in violence on the predominantly black north side of the United States mid-western city of Milwaukee, with protesters skirmishing with officers over several hours and setting fire to at least four businesses in an outburst the mayor says was fed by social media.
The uprising that broke out Saturday evening didn’t subside until after midnight, after Mayor Tom Barrett and other city leaders appeared at a news conference to plead for calm. Police said three people were arrested, and one officer was hurt by a brick thrown into a squad car.
The trigger came Saturday afternoon, when a man fleeing police after a traffic stop was shot and killed. Police said the man was armed, but it wasn’t clear whether he was pointing the gun or aiming it at officers. Barrett said the man was hit twice, in the chest and arm.
Neither his race nor the officer’s was immediately released, nor were they identified.
The protesters were largely black, and Alderman Khalif Rainey — who represents the district — said early yesterday morning that the city’s black residents are “tired of living under this oppression”.
“This entire community has sat back and witnessed how Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has become the worst place to live for African-Americans in the entire country,” Rainey said at the end of a news conference at which Barrett pleaded for calm.
The state is investigating the shooting. The officer was wearing a body camera, Barrett said, adding the uprising was driven by social media messages instructing people to congregate in the area. “We have to have calm,” Barrett said. “There are a lot of really good people who live in this neighborhood.”
Barrett said the 23-year-old man who died was stopped by police for “suspicious activity.” Police said earlier that he was carrying a gun that had been stolen in a March burglary in suburban Waukesha.
“This stop took place because two officers ... saw suspicious activity,” the mayor said. “There were 23 rounds in that gun that that officer was staring at. I want to make sure we don’t lose any police officers in this community, either.”
As many as 100 protesters massed at 44th Street and Auer Avenue between 8 and 9pm, surging against a line of 20 to 30 officers. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that officers got in their cars to leave at one point and some in the crowd started smashing a squad car’s windows. Another police car was set on fire.
Around 11pm, police with shields and helmets moved slowly into the intersection, telling a crowd of about 50 people to disperse. Some threw rocks and other debris at police, who held up their shields.
Police said the man who was shot had an arrest record. The 24-year-old officer who shot the man has been placed on administrative duty. The officer has been with the Milwaukee department six years.
The shooting occurred just a few blocks from two fatal shootings on Friday and Saturday, part of a violent nine-hour stretch in which five people died.
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