Five Ohio police shoot and kill man outside RNC in Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE ― Five police officers from Columbus, Ohio, shot and killed an armed man early Tuesday afternoon just west of downtown Milwaukee, Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said.

The shooting took place under a mile from the security perimeter for the Republican National Convention amid heightened security following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday.

No Milwaukee police officers were involved.

Thirteen Columbus police officers were in the area for a briefing when they saw an altercation between two people, one of whom was holding a knife in each hand, according to preliminary information provided by Norman late Tuesday.

The officers ordered the man to drop the knives. The man did not do so, and then suddenly charged at the other individual, which is when police opened fire, Norman said.

Body camera and still frames released late Tuesday by Columbus police show the man was still armed with the knives, and lunging toward another man, at the time of the shooting.

Two knives were recovered at the scene, the chief said.

Norman strongly defended the out-of-state officers in the shooting.

"Someone's life was in danger," he said. "These officers who are not from this area took upon themselves to act to save someone's life today."

The situation unfolded rapidly, with 15 seconds passing from when officers first noticed the man was armed with a knife to when they fired shots.

Multiple witnesses told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network, that the man, who died at the scene, was well-known, lived in a tent encampment and went by the nickname "Jehovah."

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Man identified as Samuel Sharpe Jr.

The man who was killed was well-known in the neighborhood, several witnesses told the Journal Sentinel.

He lived in one of the tent encampments, was known by the nickname Jehovah and took care of a pit bull, they said. Police could be seen removing the dog from the encampment around 2:30 and putting it in a MADACC van.

The man was identified later Tuesday as Samuel Sharpe Jr. by a first cousin, Linda Sharpe, who spoke to reporters at the scene of the shooting.

Eddie Johnson, 55, a friend of the man, said he was a "beautiful person" who was known to walk his dog and carry a Bible.

"I don't understand this," Johnson said. "He didn't deserve that."

Two people, Christina Kugler and Mark Walker, said they saw the shooting happen as the man was in the street.

Emmanuel King, 31, said he and a few others were at King Park playing cans and listening to music shortly after 1 p.m. when they saw a group of about 15 officers on bicycles. About the same time, King saw two men fighting on 14th Street and asked them to stop because of the nearby police presence.

Shelly Sarasin, the co-founder and director of Street Angels, said her outreach group goes to the area every Monday with a mobile shower unit.

Jehovah began using Street Angels' shower in April and used it yesterday, too, she said.

As he was leaving, he kept saying "I love you guys," Sarasin said.

“We might be the last people he said that to,” she said.

Sarasin said the death will impact the roughly 70 unhoused people who live in tents between 13th and 14th streets.

'I love you guys'

Shelly Sarasin, the co-founder and director of homeless outreach group Street Angels, said her teams go to the area every Monday with a mobile shower unit.

Jehovah began using Street Angels' shower in April and used it yesterday, too, she said.

As he was leaving, he kept saying "I love you guys," Sarasin said. “We might be the last people he said that to,” she said.

“He was a person. He was human,” she said, visibly shaken by the shooting. “This is more trauma on top of trauma for those who knew him and still live here.”

Witnesses: Police were breaking up a fight

Two people, Christina Kugler and Mark Walker, said they saw the shooting happen as the man was in the street.

Emmanuel King, 31, said he and a few others were at King Park listening to music shortly after 1 p.m. when they saw a group of about 15 officers on bicycles. About the same time, King saw two men fighting on 14th Street and asked them to stop because of the nearby police presence.

King said officers were trying to break up the fight when shots rang out.

Thousands of cops in Milwaukee for RNC

Prior to the convention, Milwaukee officials estimated about 4,000 officers from law enforcement agencies outside the city would take part in policing the city this week.

Milwaukee police said they intended to assign the outside officers to positions that are not public-facing — such as traffic control — while Milwaukee officers had primary contact with members of the community. Any assignments given to outside officers were supposed to include at least one Milwaukee police officer, according to the mutual aid agreement used by participating police agencies.

In a statement, the Columbus Division of Police said "the incident took place in the outer perimeter of the RNC, within the operational zone to which our officers were assigned." The department referred further questions to Milwaukee police, which is expected to have a media briefing later Tuesday.

Ohio police in Milwaukee shooting incident, union leader says

Brian Steel, president of Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9, said details are limited, but he was contacted about a shooting in Milwaukee involving a Columbus police officer, The Columbus Dispatch reported. The Dispatch is also part of the USA TODAY network.

Several dozen Columbus officers are in Milwaukee, along with officers from cities around the country, to assist with security.

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Thousands of Republicans have gathered in Milwaukee for the national convention, where former President Donald Trump was formally nominated Monday, two days after an assassination attempt during his rally in Pennsylvania.

There was no immediate information on whether the shooting had a connection to the RNC event.

Victim was well known in the neighborhood, witnesses say

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office said an adult male was killed.

The man who was killed was well-known in the neighborhood, several witnesses told the Journal Sentinel.

He lived in one of the tent encampments, was known by the nickname Jehovah and took care of a dog, a pit bull named Isis, they said.

Police escorted the dog from the encampment around 2:30 p.m. local time.

Law enforcement taped off multiple blocks of the area.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Police shooting in Milwaukee kills 1 outside RNC security zone