Officers from Columbus involved in fatal shooting near Republican National Convention

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Columbus Division of Police officers shot and killed a man less than a mile away from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Fraternal Order of Police President Brian Steel — who supervises the lodge for central Ohio — confirmed that multiple on-duty CPD bike officers fired shots at a suspect Tuesday evening. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office said an adult male was shot and killed, the Associated Press reported.

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Local NBC affiliate WTMJ-TV noted that the shooting happened at 14th and Vliet streets, where two men were reported fighting with knives. The scene was less than a mile away from the Fiserv Forum, where the Republican National Convention is being held. Steel confirmed that about 40 CPD officers were in Milwaukee to assist with event security.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson’s chief of staff, Jeff Fleming, said he didn’t know what led up to the shooting. But he and Alexi Worley, a spokesperson in the convention’s joint command center, said there was nothing to suggest the shooting was related to the convention itself, the AP reported.

No officers were hurt in the shooting, Steel said. No agency has released the identity of the suspect as of 9 p.m.

In redacted body-worn camera footage released by Columbus police, at least 13 officers can be seen discussing protests surrounding the convention when one of the officers says, “He has a knife.”

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Officers then run toward two men, one of whom appears to be going after the other with a knife. As the suspect approaches the other man, at least a dozen gunshots can be heard. The suspect then falls to the ground.

Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said two knives were recovered at the scene.

“In fact, this was a situation where somebody’s life was in immediate danger,” Norman said. “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.”

A woman who identified herself as the cousin of the victim said the family was “deeply in tears” that “you let officers come in and do this to him.”

Kenneth Johnson, a volunteer with Friends Without Shelter, said the area is well known among locals for its homeless population that sleeps in tents in a nearby lot — and questioned what an out-of-state officer had been doing at the location.

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“They shouldn’t have jurisdiction to be in this area. This isn’t near where the zones are,” Johnson said. “These are tent communities over here, they shouldn’t be over here.”

A spokesperson for Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said the Milwaukee Area Investigative Team will handle the investigation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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