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Teen’s family calls for transparency after killing by police

By: Associated Press//February 5, 2020//

Teen’s family calls for transparency after killing by police

By: Associated Press//February 5, 2020//

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WAUWATOSA, Wis. (AP) — The family of a teenage boy who was fatally shot by police in the parking lot of a suburban Milwaukee mall has called for a transparent investigation into the killing.

Seventeen-year-old Alvin Cole was shot dead by police following an altercation inside Mayfair Mall on Sunday evening.

“I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. I can’t function,” the boy’s mother, Tracy Cole, told more than 100 friends and relatives at a vigil Monday night in the parking lot where her son was killed.

Speaking on behalf of the Cole family, Rick Farmer of the Original Black Panthers of Milwaukee told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that they need answers.

“The investigation needs to be transparent, concise, and it needs to be clear, because there’s so many different stories and the reality is that a 17-year-old teenager, black male, lost his life,” he said.

When a fight broke out on Sunday evening among a group of people in front of the Sephora store, security guards escorted them from the mall, police said. Those officers called the police after a witness reported that one of the youths had a handgun. When police officers arrived, four people ran away.

“One of them matched the description given of the suspect in possession of the gun,” Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber said. “Officers called out in foot pursuit and gave chase through the parking lot.”

During the pursuit, one officer fired a handgun, striking a young man who was in possession of a handgun, Weber said. Police have not confirmed the identity of the victim.

The Milwaukee Police Department, which is investigating the shooting, declined to release the officer’s name citing the ongoing investigation. Wauwatosa police spokesman Capt. Brian Zalewski said the city’s police officers don’t wear body cameras, and it wasn’t clear when any squad camera footage would be released.

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