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.

Cavalier Johnson’s RNC Day 3 morning briefing includes fatal shooting

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s RNC Day 3 morning briefing included details on the fatal police shooting of a Milwaukee man.

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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.

MILWAUKEE — With training camp now officially less than a month away, Milwaukee Bucks basketball is almost ready to resume.

Heading into camp, it’s easy to assume that the top portion of Milwaukee’s rotation is already established. It feels more than likely that Damian Lillard, Gary Trent Jr., Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez will make up the starting five. Off the bench, it’s expected that Bobby Portis and offseason acquisitions Delon Wight and Taurean Prince will get a bulk of the reserve minutes in coach Doc Rivers’ rotation.

With the top eight players basically set in stone, there’s no huge camp battles that will determine starting spots or even signficant minutes off the bench this season. However, there still remains some battles that could impact the Bucks’ rotation and or roster for the forseeable future.

With all that said, let’s take a peak at the biggest training camp battles that the Milwaukee Bucks will have to key in on.

Heading into this season, it feels like AJ Green, AndreJackson Jr. or Pat Connaughton will get a bulk of the reserve minutes from the guard spot, and the other two will spend more of their time as spectators at the end of the bench.

Each of the three have cases as to why they should pull ahead of the others. Green showed he was able to build off a solid rookie campaign by remaining an elite three-point threat and showing improvement on the defensive end.

Jackson showed in little spurts that he can make an impact as a jack of all trades type player. And 2021 NBA champion Pat Connaughton is an experienced veteran who has shown he can be reliable in big-time moments.

As of now, it’s clear that Rivers remains high on Green. Last season, when Rivers took over as head coach during the middle of the season, Green saw a nice uptick in minutes. The Bucks also held him out of the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, which only further shows that they believe in Green’s development. That alone seems to give Green the edge over Jackson Jr., and it may just help him overtake Connaughton, who’s a potential trade candidate after having his own struggles over the past two seasons.

Next month’s training camp will prove pivotal for the entire trio of guards, with a pair of them looking to prove why they belong in the NBA and the other looking to showcase that he still has enough left in the tank to make a serious impact for a contender.

Throughout the years, players in their third NBA season often make a big jump. After struggling to make his mark during his first two seasons in Milwaukee, MarJon Beauchamp’s third go-round will be pivotal in determining if he has an NBA future.

Beauchamp played in the Summer League, which is something a rarity for a third-year player. During his time spent in the Summer League, Beauchamp didn’t showcase much of an improved skillset compared to last season. Much like his first two seasons, he showed little flashes of his athleticism and shot-making, but he also turned the ball over numerous times and showed poor shot-selection.

In a true make-or-break year, Beauchamp must enter camp with a chip on his shoulder. The guard needs to prove his worth by dominating in drills and show that he can be a reliable asset when going up against the veteran in scrimmages. If he can do that, then he could potentially earn some trust with the coaching staff, which is something he rarely was able to do last season.

Even so, it will be an uphill battle for Beauchamp to crack the rotation and move ahead o Green, Jackson Jr. and Connaughton, who are all fighting for their own respective spots in the depth chart. Time is running out for the former 24th overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft and so it won’t be easy. Beauchamp has to do whatever he’s asked in order to prove he provides value.

Being that both AJ Johnson and Tyler Smith are a pair of unpolished raw 19-year-olds, nobody should expect them to play considerable roles during their rookie campaigns. In fact, it would be surprising if they got any substantial minutes at all this season outside of garbage time.

Despite being expected to see limited court time, the two rookies will still want to come into camp hungry to showcase their abilities against a talented core of veterans.

The Bucks have been one of the oldest teams in the NBA over the last handful of seasons, including being named the oldest team in 2023-24, and it was exposed in the playoffs last season going against a young high-paced Indiana Pacers squad. A lack of youth and athleticism hurt this team when going up against the younger, more energetic squads from a year ago. Perhaps Smith and Johnson can use that to their advantage as they try and make a good first impression with the organization that took a chance on them.

Johnson’s speed and quickness is arguably his biggest weapon and he showed flashes of it earlier this offseason in the Summer League. Trying to stay with Johnson and contain him will be a fitting test for a roster filled with NBA veterans. As for Smith, he’s an athletic 6-foot-11 forward with a nice shooting touch that could make for some interesting battles with interior defenders such as Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis.

As 19-year-old rookies, neither player will be able to dominate the veterans. But being that have all the physical tools, they will have the capability to test them in certain moments. At the end of the day, this battle will only help further develop the pair of rookies and will hopefully set them up to succeed when their names are called upon later down the line.

MILWAUKEE — A community staple in Milwaukee County is seeing the need for help, as more people are experiencing food insecurity than ever.

General Willis calls the Silver Spring neighborhood home.

“I’ve been coming here for probably over eight years, but I haven’t been in the last two years. This is my first day back,” Willis said.

We met him at the Emergency Food Pantry in the heart of the community center.

Willis said the reason he came in was tough.

“Short on food — it’s the end of the month and I’ve got to survive until the next month,” Willis said.

Tanya Endisch has worked in the pantry for nearly ten years and said she knows General’s situation all too well — she was once there herself.

“I don’t mind helping the community because they helped me when I was in need,” Endisch said.

Endisch said it means the world to her to work in the same center that gave her so much.

Elaine Rojas-Castillo

“This is family here, we’re a family. This is like my home away from home and I love it here,” Endisch said.

Since switching over to choice back in March, those with the food pantry said they have been able to help hundreds of their neighbors get fresh fruits and vegetables every week.

Watch: Local food pantry helps Silver Spring neighbors make ends meet.

Emergency pantry addresses food insecurity in Milwaukee’s Silver Spring neighborhood

“A lot of people ask for fresh fruits, ask for fresh vegetables,” Endisch said. “We do the best we can and we get it for them.”

With Hunger Task Force sending more than 5,000 pounds of fresh produce from their Franklin farm so far this year, Endisch said she hopes to continue serving as many families as she can.

“Don’t be scared to ask for help. Come on down. We’ll help you,” said Endisch.

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