Greenfield Police to lead investigation into fatal Milwaukee shooting involving Ohio officers

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The Milwaukee Police Department announced Tuesday that the Greenfield Police Department will be the lead law enforcement agency in the investigation of a fatal police shooting in Milwaukee on Tuesday involving five Columbus, Ohio police officers.

At or around 1:10 p.m. on July 16, 13 uniformed Columbus Division of Police officers from Ohio that were assigned to bicycle patrol were briefing with their supervisor in their assigned zone, Columbus Police Chief Elaine R. Bryant said.

Columbus Police were meeting west of 14th and Vliet in the 1400 block of West Vliet Street. During the briefing, the officers observed a man with a knife in each hand engaged in an altercation with another unarmed individual, Bryant noted.

According to Bryant, the officers identified themselves as police officers and made several commands to the man to drop the knife, as evidenced in the recently released body camera footage.

The man refused the commands and charged at the other individual with the knives, Bryant added.

“At this time, several officers discharged their firearms, subsequently striking the suspect,” Bryant said.

The shooting happened near King Park, only blocks away from the convention center where the Republican National Convention is taking place in downtown Milwaukee.

“My heart goes out to the families, the community, and all those affected by the tragic events that occurred outside King Park (on July 16),” said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley in a written statement.

“The Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services works closely in this neighborhood and are already in the area providing assistance and counseling to those in need. But as we have seen in the past, the trauma and grief that residents are currently experiencing will impact their day-to-day lives long after today. We must keep working to stop the cycle of violence and foster safer neighborhoods for every resident, family, and child in Milwaukee. As the investigation continues, I am calling for full accountability and transparency, including more details about how this situation unfolded that resulted in deadly force and a loss of life,” Crowley added.

The deceased is a 43-year-old Milwaukee male. According to authorities, there were no other reported injuries. Two knives were recovered from the scene, just blocks away from the RNC where a man was arrested for wielding an AK-47.

As previously reported, the Columbus Police Department, as well as the chief of staff for Milwaukee’s mayor and a spokeswoman for the convention’s joint command center, all said there was nothing to suggest the shooting was related to the convention.

Also as previously reported, Columbus Police sent a 13-member “Police Dialogue Team” to Milwaukee this week. The team was formed a couple of years ago to approach protests differently. The goal is to facilitate people’s demonstration rights while avoiding the kind of violent conflict with police that marked the 2020 protests.

The Wisconsin Law Journal also previously reported that Milwaukee Police Department through federal channels had requested assistance from department as well as law enforcement agencies from across the nation.