Latest news with #MilwaukeeCountyDistrictAttorney'sOffice
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Yahoo
Columbus police cleared by Milwaukee DA in shooting of man near Republican convention
The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office will not charge the five Columbus, Ohio, police officers involved in the shooting death of a Milwaukee man during the week of the Republican National Convention, an expected decision that still outrages his family. "We expected the same decision to be used that has justified the actions of killer cops that have stolen the lives of thousands of Black people before Sam," said Angelique Sharpe, in reference to the DA's decision not to charge the officers in her brother Sam Sharpe Jr.'s death. Angelique said the country's record of failing to find officers guilty in addition to state statutes cited by District Attorney Kevin Lovern during a meeting April 8 with her and local activists kept their expectations low prior to Lovern making his decision public nearly a month later. "He at least let us share out sentiments, even though our sentiments had no bearing on the decision that was made regarding his death," Angelique told the Journal Sentinel. Sam Sharpe, 43, was shot and killed July 16 by the five officers, who were part of a bicycle patrol unit, who were among to assist in policing the four-day political event. The officers had biked to an area by two tent encampments near West Vliet and North 14th streets, roughly a mile from the RNC's secure perimeter, to debrief. The situation unfolded rapidly, with 15 seconds passing from when officers first noticed Sharpe was armed with a knife and moving toward another man to when they fired shots. Sam was shot 23 times by the five officers, with 34 entry and exit wounds on his body, according to his sister who was given access to crime scene photos, videos and reports, most of which have yet to be made public. "He had gunshot wounds from head to toe, on the front and back of his body," Angelique told the Journal Sentinel. The evidence suggested the Columbus officers had "reasonable concern for the safety" of the other man, rendering the shooting legal, according to Lovern's letter outlining the decision to not charge officers. The letter was sent to Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant. "The five officers who fired shots at Sharpe indicated they did so out of concern that (the other man) would be seriously harmed or killed by Sharpe," Lovern's four-page letter said. "The officers' use of force, under the circumstances presented to them at the time, was permissible under Wisconsin law in order to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm." Nicholas Mason, Adam Groves, Austin Enos, Canaan Dick and Karl Eiginger were the five officers with the Columbus Police Department who shot and killed Sharpe. Fourteen Columbus officers responded in total, according to Lovern's letter. Two of the five police officers who fired their guns — Mason and Groves — have previously been investigated for uses of force. Mason, who has been with the department since 2007, was cleared of criminal wrongdoing after fatally shooting a driver who accelerated during a traffic stop and dragged Mason along the car in 2017, the Columbus Dispatch first reported. Groves was one of six officers sued in 2016 on allegations of wrongful arrest and excessive use of force, which resulted in a settlement of $45,000 in 2020, according to the Columbus Dispatch. 'Criminal charges are a unicorn when it comes to these kinds of charges,' said Alan Chavoya, a member of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression who attended the meeting with Lovern. 'We try to temper our expectations.' Following the meeting with Lovern earlier this month, Angelique and three members of the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression expressed concern that protocols have yet to be put in place to prevent something similar from happening if another large event is held in Milwaukee that requires out-of-state police officers. In the case of the RNC, the five Ohio officers were among 4,000 non-Milwaukee law enforcement officers who arrived in Milwaukee to assist in security, traffic and public safety. When the city won the bid to host the event, activists immediately raised questions about policing. Milwaukee police officials said they did not intend to use outside officers for "forward-facing" roles, and they wanted Milwaukee officers to be the ones interacting with local residents. The agreements signed by the outside agencies reflected those goals, too. The officers involved in Sam's death were part of a bicycle patrol unit, which were not considered 'forward-facing,' the department later acknowledged. Consequently, there were no MPD officers accompanying their unit. In September, two months after Sam's death, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman met with the Milwaukee Common Council's Steering and Rules Committee. Committee members had questions. Norman subsequently took responsibility for local officers not accompanying out-of-state police during the Republican National Convention. Lo Cross, also a member of the alliance, said city officials, not just activists, had questions concerning the mutual aid agreements that were put in place with out-of-state police departments. 'I am still hearing concerns over how we can prevent this from happening again,' Cross said. Ten months prior to his death, Sharpe decided to live among other people in the community without permanent housing. Robert Camacho, a street pastor who ministers to roughly 4,500 of the city's men and women who call the streets home, told the Journal Sentinel in the days following Sam's death that Sam chose to live among the homeless to spread the message of God. He didn't want them to feel hopeless, Camacho said. Because of his religious beliefs, he always carried a Bible. He was known by most not as Sam, but as Jehovah, a name he had tattooed on his chest. Angelique said her brother had multiple sclerosis, a degenerative muscle disease that impacted his mobility. She said if police had known that, they would have known he was stumbling, not lunging forward in an attempt to stab anyone. Angelique points to the knives her brother was holding. They were not butcher knives, she said, but more like paring knives that you would use to eat or open cans. "If I was planning to kill someone with a knife, I'm going to make sure I get knives that are guaranteed to do the job," she said. She said the man her brother was fighting with was a known instigator in the encampment, who had threatened to kill her brother's dog, Ices, and had stole his phone earlier that morning. "This isn't over," Angelique Sharpe said. "We will still seek justice for Sam." Jessica Van Egeren is a general assignment reporter and assistant breaking news editor with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at jvanegeren@ David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He contributed reporting to this story. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ohio police in Republican National Convention shooting of man cleared
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Yahoo
'Serial rapist:' Milwaukee teen charged with sexual assault again
The Brief Prosecutors described a Milwaukee teen as a "serial rapist." The 17-year-old boy is charged with sexual assault for the fourth time. Prosecutors say he raped a 54-year-old woman in an elevator at her apartment. MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee County prosecutors described a 17-year-old boy – charged with sexual assault for the fourth time – as a "serial rapist." What they're saying Tremonte Kirk is charged with second-degree sexual assault and strangulation. Prosecutors say he raped a 54-year-old woman in an elevator at her apartment. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android "After reading this complaint, it's probably one of the first times in my life I could say I was speechless," said Court Commissioner Barry Phillips. "This is any woman's worst nightmare." Investigators said Kirk was caught on surveillance watching the woman go into a store before following her out. "This woman is disabled because of a recent surgery, and she was just going down the block to buy some groceries," Phillips said. Prosecutors said Kirk told the woman he forgot his keys, so she let him in. Then, once they were in the elevator, prosecutors said he sexually assaulted her and kept pressing the elevator buttons to keep it from stopping. Investigators said the elevator is old and doesn't automatically open the doors when called. Prosecutors said, at one point, he threatened to kill the woman. When she was shown a photo array, the woman told investigators it would have been easier to identify him if he were smiling "because he had been smiling the whole time he sexually assaulted her." Dig deeper Kirk was on GPS monitoring when prosecutors said the sexual assault happened. "This is the fourth time he's been accused of sexually assaulting someone. This is a vulnerable victim," said Assistant District Attorney Karine O'Byrne. SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News In 2020, in juvenile court, Kirk was found guilty of two counts of fourth-degree sexual assault involving two different people. Then in 2021, he was found guilty in juvenile court of first-degree sexual assault of an elderly person. What's next Kirk's bond was set at $300,000. He is scheduled to be back in court on April 30. The Source Information in this report is from the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Yahoo
2021 Milwaukee shooting, man wanted for reckless homicide
The Brief A Milwaukee man is wanted in connection to a 2021 shooting. Court records show he's charged with first-degree reckless homicide. The shooting happened near 13th and Dakota on the city's south side. MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man is wanted for reckless homicide in connection to a 2021 shooting on the city's south side. In Court Court records show 38-year-old Rickey Grandy is charged with first-degree reckless homicide and possession of a firearm by a felon. A warrant for his arrest was issued on Monday. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android. What they're saying The shooting happened on July 19, 2021. When police arrived at the scene near 13th and Dakota, they found the victim shot on the ground. Nine bullet casings were recovered. A criminal complaint states the victim told police he was "in pain" and felt like he was "going to die." He provided a description of two suspects before he was taken to a hospital where he ultimately died. Surveillance video from a nearby business showed the victim walking on 13th Street when two people walked up behind and appeared to be following him, according to court filings. One of the two people appeared to start running toward the victim, and a muzzle flash was seen seconds later. A different business' surveillance cameras also captured the shooting, which showed the suspects in greater detail. A suspect in a black t-shirt was closer to the victim, while a suspect in a white t-shirt was further away. SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News The complaint states detectives met with Grandy's probation agent, who identified Grandy as the suspect in the black t-shirt. The suspect in the white t-shirt was not identified in the complaint. Court filings state Grandy was convicted of armed robbery in 2006. As a convicted felon, he was not allowed to have a gun. The Source Information in this report is from the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Yahoo
Milwaukee police chase of homicide suspect; driver crashed at Farwell
The Brief A high-speed police chase of a homicide suspect ended with a crash on Milwaukee's Lower East Side. The pursuit unfolded on Wednesday morning, April 9, after officers spotted the suspect downtown. The driver of the vehicle was arrested after a brief foot chase. MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee police arrested a 32-year-old man who led officers on a high-speed chase on Wednesday morning, April 9. That chase ended in a crash. What we know Officials say it was around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday when officers spotted a suspect wanted in connection with a homicide enter the SUV near 6th and Wells in downtown Milwaukee. Officers attempted to make a traffic stop. However, the driver refused and a police chase ensued. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android The chase took officers down Brady Street as noted by surveillance pictures FOX6 News obtained. The chase ended when the driver of the SUV lost control and collided with a tree at Brady and Farwell Avenue. The driver of the vehicle was arrested after a brief foot chase. He was taken to a hospital for medical clearance. Criminal charges will be referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office. The Source The information in this post was provided by the Milwaukee Police Department.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Yahoo
A dozen officers took part in the 2018 arrest of a Bucks player. Only one was put on a list of officers with credibility issues.
It was one of the highest-profile police misconduct cases in recent years. In 2018, Milwaukee police officers arrested then-NBA player Sterling Brown, taking him to the ground and using a Taser. The encounter started over a parking violation. The case cost one Milwaukee officer their career, resulted in discipline or retraining for 10 others and left taxpayers on the hook for a $750,000 settlement. The officer who lost his job, Erik Andrade, was disciplined for social media posts he made after the arrest. Those posts showed racial bias, according to the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office, which added him to a list of officers with credibility concerns, findings of dishonesty or bias, or past criminal charges. None of the other officers involved, even those who were suspended, landed on the list. That includes a supervisor who admitted that he wrongly told Internal Affairs he saw a gun in Brown's car that night. The case illustrates the decision-making behind who gets placed on a 'Brady/Giglio' list in Milwaukee County. Such lists take their name from two landmark U.S. Supreme Court rulings and help prosecutors fulfill their legal obligations to share information favorable to the defense. Veteran defense attorneys and some outside legal experts have argued the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office criteria for including officers on the list is too narrow, depriving defendants of crucial information. WHERE TO WATCH: TMJ4 News latest report on 'Duty to Disclose' to feature Sterling Brown case at 6 p.m. April 8 District Attorney Kent Lovern has maintained his office is fulfilling its legal obligations. In the case of Andrade, Lovern, then-chief deputy district attorney, went a step further and said prosecutors should no longer use Andrade for testimony in any future case. That decision factored heavily in Andrade's firing. Brown's attorney, Mark Thomsen of Gingras, Thomsen and Wachs, still questions why Andrade is on the list, while the higher-ranking sergeant who made an inaccurate statement to Internal Affairs is not. Thomsen said the sergeant appeared to lie to internal investigators and that should get him a spot on the Brady list. 'The goal of our justice system is not to send innocent people to jail, which means you've got to trust the people that are making the allegations,' Thomsen said. Two sergeants were involved in the arrest of Brown, who at the time was a rookie for the Milwaukee Bucks. One of them was Sgt. Jeffrey Krueger. Krueger grabbed Brown during the arrest and takedown outside a Walgreens on the city's south side. He did not order the Taser to be used against Brown. That order was given by the other supervisor present, Sgt. Sean A. Mahnke. Police body camera footage showed Brown staying calm and polite as the officers became increasingly confrontational during the interaction. The video contradicted early draft reports from officers, including Krueger, that described Brown as "aggressive." In an Internal Affairs interview, Krueger described how he shined a flashlight in Brown's car, which was parked across two handicapped spots. Krueger said he saw a paper target with bullet holes and then looked at another sergeant, Mahnke, peering into the car. 'It clicked all at once,' Krueger told internal investigators. 'Uh, it started making a lot more sense. OK, you know this guy was agitated with Officer (Joseph) Grams, um, he got really agitated with me looking into his vehicle.' 'And now I see this gun,' he said. Police did not find a gun in the car or on Brown. During a deposition in the civil lawsuit, Thomsen questioned Krueger about his assertion that he saw a gun. Krueger asked to see the police records before answering. 'Oh, it was – yeah. That – I did not see a gun. No,' Krueger said, according to a transcript of the deposition. 'So if you never saw a gun, why are you telling internal affairs that you saw a gun, sir?' Thomsen asked. 'I must have misspoke and nobody caught it,' he replied. To Thomsen, the reason the sergeant said he saw a gun was obvious: He wanted to justify the force used on Brown by implying there was a threat. 'When he said it, he knew it was a lie,' Thomsen claimed in an interview. 'That's not a mistake. Nobody makes that kind of mistake, not a sergeant with all the experience in the world.' In addition, the internal investigators questioning Krueger knew no gun had been found, Thomsen said. Krueger received a 10-day suspension for failing to be a role model for professional police service during Brown's arrest. He did not respond to an interview request from TMJ4 News for this story, and the Milwaukee Police Department declined a separate request to interview him. Asked about Krueger's claim of misspeaking, Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said he did not have enough information to discuss the issue. Norman was not chief at the time of Brown's arrest. In a follow-up email, the Police Department said none of the officers involved in Brown's arrest were disciplined for an integrity issue except for Andrade. Because of that, no other officers were referred to the district attorney's office for potential inclusion on the Brady list. In an interview, Lovern, the district attorney, said people can and do misspeak, and later realize they were incorrect. He stressed he was speaking generally and not about any specific case, including Krueger's. 'That doesn't mean those were dishonest statements,' Lovern said. 'That doesn't mean that that earlier statement was somehow lacking integrity.' "And there has to be an allowance for the fact that, frankly, people will make misstatements. People will have to correct the record later," he said, adding: "That's just the world we live in. That's just life." Thomsen said he believed Krueger's words to Internal Affairs were not just a misstatement. "When the sergeant who's supervising is able to say to Internal Affairs a lie, and everybody knows it's a lie, and keeps their job, what message does that send institutionally?" Thomsen asked. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Only one Milwaukee officer from Bucks player's arrest is on Brady list
