MILWAUKEE (AP) 鈥� Ohio police officers in Wisconsin for the shot and killed a man who was wielding two knives near the convention, Milwaukee鈥檚 police chief said Tuesday.
Five members of the Columbus, Ohio, police department fired on the man, who had a knife in each hand, refused police commands and charged at an unarmed man before police fired, Milwaukee Chief Jeffrey Norman said at a news conference. Two knives were recovered from the scene, the chief said.
Police released body camera footage that showed officers on bikes talking before one of them says, 鈥淗e's got a knife.鈥�
Several officers then yell 鈥淒rop the knife!鈥� as they run toward two men standing in a street. When the armed man moved toward the unarmed man, police fired their weapons.
鈥淪omeone鈥檚 life was in danger,鈥� Norman said. 鈥淭hese officers, who were not from this area, took it upon themselves to act and save someone鈥檚 life today.鈥�
Thousands of officers from multiple jurisdictions are in Milwaukee providing additional security for the convention that began Monday and concludes Thursday.
The shooting fueled anger from residents who questioned why out-of-state officers were in their neighborhood located about a mile from the convention site.
The Columbus Division of Police, as well as the chief of staff for Milwaukee's mayor and a spokesperson for the convention鈥檚 joint command center, all said there was nothing to suggest the shooting was related to the convention itself.
A cousin and others identified the man killed as 43-year-old Samuel Sharpe.
Milwaukee residents and activists quickly converged on the site of the shooting, many of them expressing outrage about the involvement of a police department in town because of the convention. They held a nighttime vigil.
鈥淭hey came into our community and shot down our family right here at a public park,鈥� said Linda Sharpe, a cousin of the man who was killed. 鈥淲hat are you doing in our city, shooting people down?鈥�
Sharpe said her cousin lived in a tent encampment across the street from King Park, where the shooting occurred.
Residents said the encampment was a long-standing feature of the neighborhood, which is home to several social service clinics and a shelter. Some said Milwaukee police officers are familiar with many of those living in the tents and might have been able to deescalate the situation.
David Porter, who said he knew Sharpe and is also homeless, was angry that officers from outside of Milwaukee were in his neighborhood.
鈥淚f MPD would have been there, that man would still be alive right now,鈥� Porter said, referring to Milwaukee police.
Norman, the Milwaukee chief, said 13 officers who were part of a bicycle patrol from Columbus were within their assigned zone having a meeting when they saw the altercation.
鈥淭he officers observed a subject armed with a knife in each hand, engaged in an altercation with another unarmed individual,鈥� Norman said. They only fired after the armed man ignored multiple commands and moved toward the unarmed man, the chief said.
鈥淭his is a situation where somebody's life was in immediate danger,鈥� Norman said.
The Columbus Division of Police has received attention because of its special unit deployed to Milwaukee that works to improve police-community relationships and had a visible role in guiding the on Monday.
The shooting happened near King Park, roughly a mile from the convention center, where a small group of protesters gathered before marching on Monday. That demonstration was followed by dozens of Columbus police officers, wearing blue vests that read: 鈥淐olumbus Police Dialogue.鈥�
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner鈥檚 Office said an autopsy was scheduled for Wednesday.
Jake Offenhartz, The Associated Press
