Activists, sister of Samuel Sharpe critical of police at public meeting; chief speaks on incident

Activists and the sister of the man killed by out-of-state police during the Republican National Convention criticized the officers and the Milwaukee police’s messaging of security plans at a public meeting on Thursday night.

Angelique Sharpe — whose brother Samuel Sharpe Jr. died on June 16 during the second day of the convention — spoke at a meeting of the city’s Fire and Police Commission, the oversight body for the city’s police and fire departments. She joined with activists to criticize the Milwaukee Police Department and the Columbus, Ohio officers involved in the shooting.

“My brother’s life will not be in vain. People are going to be held accountable,” Sharpe said to the commission during public comments. “This whole situation needs to be properly investigated and looked at holistically and systemic change needs to happen.”

Columbus, Ohio police shot and killed Sam Sharpe as he wielded two knives and moved toward another man, bodycam footage shows. The situation happened rapidly, with about 15 seconds passing between when officers first saw Sharpe and opening fire.

Sharpe’s family has said at memorials and other events he was acting in self-defense. They’ve described him as a strongly devout man who chose to become unsheltered in an attempt to spread his faith.

Activists and his sister have criticized what they described as a lack of de-escalation attempts, the number of shots fired and the lack of local police officers with the group of Ohio officers.

Miriam Horowitz, the chair of the Fire and Police Commission, asked Norman to elaborate on why the Columbus, Ohio officers were at the park and for issues around communication of out-of-town officers’ roles.

A Milwaukee police official told the Journal Sentinel before the convention that out-of-town officers would be placed in non-“forward facing” roles.

“Our intent is to place them in positions where they’re not necessarily forward facing,” Milwaukee Police Inspector David Feldmeier said at the time. “We would like our officers, our MPD officers, to be the ones to have contact with the community.”

Norman said he was limited in what he could say, due to the ongoing investigation into the shooting, but said he didn’t know how the “message got out there” that the non-Milwaukee officers would not engage with the community, but said it was intended they would not be in any “critical areas.”

He conceded the officers should’ve been accompanied by a Milwaukee police officer.

“If we were having officers in certain roles that would have to have a navigation of the lay of the land, we should have had an officer with those officers,” he said. “So, there’s been no lack of accountability or standing forth in regard to owning that.”

Norman said he would be able to talk further on the shooting once the investigation is complete. The Milwaukee Area Investigative Team, led by the Greenfield Police Department, is investigating the fatal shooting.

Activists from the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression spoke in support of Sharpe during the meeting. The group lobbed harsh criticisms at Norman and noted their early reservations at having out-of-town police involved in the Republican National Convention.

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They were critical of Norman and Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s comments after the shooting that the officers had saved a life.

“I’m also here in utter disgust and disappointment with the Milwaukee Police Department,” Lo Cross said. “Saying that you saved a life when that wasn’t even the original purpose of Columbus police being in that area anyways is downright flagrant and disrespectful.”

During the meeting, Sharpe and Norman spoke in city hall for about 10 minutes. Sharpe said the police chief gave his condolences to her again for her brother’s death and she told him of her frustrations of attempting to communicate with the department for updates on the investigation.

Sharpe said she appreciated the chief’s willingness to express his condolences and willingness to say a Milwaukee officer should have been with the Ohio police.

Sharpe said the shooting of her brother has been limited in its telling, with many only focusing on the moment he died and not what led up to it in the days prior. During her public comment, Sharpe said her brother had called them the day before to tell them of a confrontation he had with the other man in the incident.

“My brother he had a whole life. He had a whole story,” Sharpe said outside of the meeting chambers.