MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin — There’s commotion in Milwaukee after officers from the Columbus Division of Police shot and killed a man about a mile from the Republican National Convention. Officers said the man, 43, had two knives, one in each hand, and was “engaged in an altercation" with another unarmed person.

Officers said they responded after warning the man several times to drop the knives.

What You Need To Know

  • Columbus police officers shot and killed a man in Milwaukee

  • Investigators say the man, 43, was holding two knives when he was shot

  • It happened about a mile away from the Republican National Convention

  • While police body cam video appears to show the man lunging toward someone else, this incident is leaving some community members questioning the police’s course of action
 

Milwaukee police have applauded Columbus Police for responding and intervening.

“This is a situation where somebody’s life was in immediate danger," said Jeffrey Norman, the Chief of Police at the Milwaukee Police Department. "Again, two knives were recovered from this particular situation. Someone's life was in danger. These officers who are not from this area took upon themselves to act to save someone's life today.”

But some community members are critical of the response. 

“Well see if this person was doing something of mental health inside of the perimeter, inside of the RNC perimeter, I could understand that but how, why is an Ohio Police officer, the question that we want to ask as a community is why was an Ohio police officer on 14th and Vliet?” said Radontae Ashford, the pastor at The Infinite Church in Milwaukee.

Timothy Dimoff, a national law enforcement procedures expert and former law enforcement and federal task force officer, said officers are only trained to shoot their weapons if deadly force is justifiable. He said officers use deadly force on a suspect they perceive to be an imminent threat of death or bodily harm to the officers or others.

In training, police are told to use force until that person no longer presents a threat. 

“You're taught you should never shoot your firearm as a police officer unless you're justified in deadly force, meaning that you end up killing the person that you're shooting,” Dimoff said. “You can never shoot someone with the intention to wound them or slow them down.”

But when it comes to the decision of drawing their gun, Dimoff said that decision can be strategic.

“They’re pulling the firearm out to hopefully de-escalate that subject and also to prepare in case they need to utilize the firearm,” Dimoff said. 

Data shows the Columbus Division of Police has a history of using deadly force. 

According to the Police Scorecard, Columbus Police is among the worst in the country when it comes to Police Shootings. Data shows CDP officers killed 48 people between 2013 and 2021 making their killings per arrest ratio higher than 99% of police departments nationwide. 

“But the most important statistic is how many of those officer shootings in Columbus ended up in a Columbus police officer being criminally charged that they did the wrong thing in those shootings,” Dimoff said. “That is the statistic that's more important than how many shootings they're involved in, or that they're higher than another city.”

Dimoff said police departments federally and locally are constantly looking for alternatives to using deadly force including tools such as tear gas and rubber bullets, but they’re not always feasible. 

“I don't think it's going to be a bad idea for Columbus or any police department across the United States to start to look at other trainings on alternative use during aggressive behavior,” Dimoff said. “When you have split-second decisions, and when you have someone with deadly force intentions, you’re really asking for an extreme, quick decision by an officer.”

The Milwaukee area investigative team is investigating the incident. It is an ongoing investigation.

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