Alvin Cole’s Family Arrested and Protestors Tear Gassed After DA’s Decision

Members of Alvin Cole’s family were arrested, including his mother Thursday night, and protestors were tear gassed and shot with rubber bullets by police during the demonstration on Wednesday following the decision of the Police and Fire Commission not to prosecute Joseph Mensah with criminal charges. 

According to a video posed by Tahudah Cole, during the Thursday night protests, an officer ordered Tracy Cole to get out of their car for breaking curfew. The officers tried to force Tracy out of the car for arrest. Tahudah Cole left the car.

“Stay in the car,” said an officer.

Tahudah said she would report the arresting officers. The situation was escalated by officers when you can hear them saying, “Get on the ground, get on the ground, you are going to get tased, you are going to get tased!”

Before this, Tracy was mostly quiet. Police have not confirmed if a taser was used. 

Tracy exclaimed, “Oh my, oh Jesus Christ! I can’t breathe.” Followed by the officer saying, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

“I can’t believe y’all did this to me,” said Tracy. “You killed my son now you are hurting me.”

Tracy asked the officers for help and they did not respond.

When she said, “They hit me in the head and pulled my hair, and my head is bleeding,” an officer said, “Well that’s too bad.” An ambulance came to provide care. Tracy was seen bleeding.

A news release by the Wauwatosa Police Department said, “These arrests were made without regard for who these persons were; rather, they were made based on those individual’s own decision to willfully violate the emergency order.”  

Before this, Tracy called out District Attorney John Chisholm during the march in a speech to the protestors.

“They want trouble here, and basically Chisholm already made his decision a week ago,” said Tracy. “Because I see the National Guard is here, state troops are here in full fight gear ready to tear us down.”  

Wauwatosa Mayor Dennis McBride reinforced Tracy’s claim in his statement.

“Since mid-July the Wauwatosa Police Department, Wauwatosa Fire Department, and office of Gov. Tony Evers have been preparing for the District Attorney’s decision,” said McBride. “Today I issued an emergency declaration to ensure everyone’s wellbeing.

On Wednesday, the protests began after the press conference in front of the Public Safety Building in downtown Milwaukee and made their way out to East Town Wauwatosa.

“This is a revolution,” said protestor Jack McGee. “We need to be heard.”

A report by Stephen Biskupic to the Wauwatosa Police and Fire Commission stated there is not sufficient evidence to charge him with a crime, and their recommendation was to fire Mensah due to their concern for another shooting. District Attorney John Chisholm decided to keep Mensah on paid administrative leave.

Protestors met a wall of police on Wauwatosa Ave. The following interaction with police occurred on North Avenue where the police fired tear gas at the protestors. The march backtracked through residential neighborhoods and continued protesting.  Later in the night they used flashbangs to disperse the crowd.

The protest continued and were met with tear gas when water bottles were thrown at the police barricade. They fired rubber bullets into the crowd striking several protesters. Some of the welts from the rubber bullets were the size of a small orange.

“My eyes,” said a protestor hit with the tear gas. “I can’t see.”

Several minutes went by as protestors administered first aid and recuperated. After they continued to march.  Following, later in the night they were met with flashbangs.

Several teenagers were involved in breaking windows along the route, but the protest was widely peaceful.

“Not the houses,” shouted protestor Kimberling Bledsoe. “Not the houses!”

In the press conference earlier, Kimberly Motley, attorney for the Cole, Gonzalez, and Anderson families spoke about the Biskupic report and claimed that if Mensah had been fired after the killing of Jay Anderson, Cole might still be alive.

“Had officer Mensah been terminated four years ago when he shot and killed Jay Anderson then Alvin Cole would be here today,” said Motley.  

The report concluded that allowing Mensah to continue to be a police officer creates an “extraordinary, unwarranted and unnecessary risk to the Wauwatosa Police Department and the City of Wauwatosa.”

The three cases Mensah was involved in discussed in the report was the killing of Antonio Gonzalez, Jay Anderson and Alvin Cole.

Gonzalez was shot after raising a samurai sword at Mensah and officer Jeffery Newman. Newman was reported to have shot once and Mensah to have shot eight times according to the report.

Jay Anderson had a gun in his passenger seat and was inebriated on marijuana and alcohol and was likely asleep in the drivers’ seat. Mensah had his body camera turned off and the only evidence of what happened before Anderson’s death is solely based on Mensah’s account according to the report.

The report also cited Mensah as dishonest citing when he did not correct Dan O’Donnell when he said, “in fact the suspect ran out the mall and shot at you,” while discussing the Cole shooting.

In the case of Alvin Cole, the report states that Cole fired one shot into his own arm by mistake. The magazine then fell out of the gun, Cole collapsed and began to crawl. The gun could not be fired. Mensah was on the scene for less than 30 seconds and claimed Cole raised the gun at him. Mensah then shot and killed Cole. No other officer fired at Cole.

Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber was referenced in the report saying he would have “great concern over the impact of a fourth shooting.”