MPD officers will accompany all visiting police bicycle units after fatal shooting

After a fatal police shooting a mile from the security zone of the Republican National Convention, everyone from elected officials to activists and reporters had the same question:

Why were officers from Columbus, Ohio, in King Park?

Milwaukee police officials were clear before the RNC: They did not intend to use non-Milwaukee officers for "forward-facing" roles, and they wanted Milwaukee officers to be the ones interacting with local residents.

Mutual aid agreements signed by outside agencies had similar language, saying Milwaukee officers should be the ones to make arrests and requiring at least one Milwaukee officer on most assignments.

On Wednesday, Milwaukee police said they did not consider the Columbus bicycle unit to be a forward-facing unit, since it was a specialty unit primarily tasked with traffic control and responding to potential demonstrations.

But the department has since made changes. For the last two days of the convention, all bicycle units will have representation from Milwaukee police.

"MPD is confident in the operational plan in place for the RNC," the department said in a news release. "That being said, we recognize the importance in making continual improvements as situations occur."

Milwaukee police explain Columbus police's location

On Tuesday, five police officers from Columbus, Ohio, shot and killed a man armed with knives as he moved toward another, unarmed man, according to Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman and a clip of body camera footage released that evening.

Norman strongly defended the out-of-state officers, saying they had saved a life. Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson made similar comments Wednesday and said he expected a "thorough investigation."

"The information we have leaves a clear impression that these Columbus officers, they saved the life of an unarmed man from death or perhaps serious injury," the mayor said at an early morning press conference.

The man killed by police was identified as Samuel Sharpe Jr. by a first cousin, Linda Sharpe, who spoke to reporters at the scene of the shooting. He was living in what activists at a vigil on Tuesday called a "tent city" at King Park. Activists condemned the shooting and the role of the out-of-state officers.

At a news conference Tuesday, Norman had said the officers were in their assigned zone related to RNC duties for potential demonstration response. The shooting occurred on West Vliet Street near North 14th Street.

The department provided more clarity on Wednesday in a lengthy statement provided to reporters. The Columbus officers were in their assigned zone, which included portions of the soft perimeter and extended into the area immediately surrounding it. The department also noted a protest had occurred near Vliet and 14th Streets the day before.

"All outside agencies have been assigned to areas that include the hard perimeter, the soft perimeter and/or the area immediately surrounding the soft perimeter," the department said.

The Columbus officers were briefing at the location when they saw two men fighting. The situation unfolded rapidly, with 15 seconds passing from when officers first noticed Sharpe was armed with a knife to when they fired shots.

Milwaukee police said Columbus officers were not responding to a 911 call about the altercation — they reacted to a situation they saw — and underscored that the Milwaukee Police Department is handling all "regular calls" for service.

The five Columbus officers involved in the shooting will not continue to work the RNC, according to the Milwaukee police statement.

The convention ends Thursday.

Public officials call for accountability, explanations

The shooting has brought calls for police transparency and accountability from the public and local leaders.

Common Council President José G. Pérez said the city needs to be “committed to preventing this type of incident to the highest degree possible.” He said he had contacted the police department and the city’s Fire and Police Commission, a civilian oversight board, for more updates.

“I will be following the investigation of this incident very closely and add my voice to the many calling for a thorough and transparent process,” Perez said in a statement.

Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson said in a statement that Sharpe’s death “underscores” the need for police reform. The county has made improvements at King Park and the surrounding area, including enhancements to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, in recent years, her statement said.

In a lengthy statement, Ald. Scott Spiker, who chairs the Common Council’s Public Safety and Health Committee, said concerns over the shooting were “both reasonable and urgent.” However, he said the idea that police being from Columbus made the death a foregone conclusion was "incautious."

Spiker did question why the Columbus police were not accompanied by Milwaukee police, “despite assurances from the Chief and his staff on multiple occasions,” that would occur.

“I am prepared to praise the Columbus officers for potentially saving a life,” Spiker’s statement said. “While at the same time calling on the Milwaukee Police Department, the Fire and Police Commission, and the Mayor to carefully consider whether there are structural issues relating to how we police the community (and, in this instance, allow others to do so) that this incident lays bare and that warrant a more searching analysis than has been engaged in thus far.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MPD changes RNC visiting police approach after Sharpe shooting