A man armed with two knives was shot and killed by police officers on Tuesday near the site of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisc., as violence continues to follow the U.S. presidential campaign trail.
The RNC kicked off on Monday, two days after a gunman opened fire on former president Donald Trump at a weekend rally in Pennsylvania. Trump appeared before the crowd on the first night of the RNC with a bandage over his right ear, where he was struck by a bullet Saturday during the attempt on his life.
On the second day of the four-day convention, a skirmish on the outskirts of the RNC grounds left a 43-year-old man dead after he charged at an unarmed person while carrying a knife in each hand, the Milwaukee Police Department said.
The knife-wielding man was shot dead by out-of-state officers from the Columbus Division of Police in Ohio who were called up to Milwaukee to provide additional security for the RNC.
The shooting has angered some local residents who believe the altercation could have been deescalated had local police been present. A cousin and others identified the man killed as 43-year-old Samuel Sharpe, who was homeless and living in a tent encampment near the site of the shooting.
Body camera footage released by police show a large group of Columbus police officers in a circle being briefed on security matters in their assigned zone when one can be heard saying, “He’s got a knife.”
The camera turns to show an altercation between two individuals at the edge of the parking lot where the group of 13 police officers were gathered.
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“Hey stop!” one officer yelled.
“Drop the knife!” the group of officers can be heard repeatedly yelling as they ran over.
When the armed man continued to move toward the unarmed man, police fired their weapons numerous times and the suspect fell to the ground.
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Five Columbus officers discharged their weapons, Milwaukee Chief Jeffrey Norman said at a news conference. Two knives were recovered from the scene.
“Someone’s life was in danger,” Norman said. “These officers, who were not from this area, took it upon themselves to act and save someone’s life today.”
The Milwaukee police statement adds that the officers “identified themselves as police officers and made several commands to the suspect to drop the knife.”
“The subject refused these commands.”
The shooting has fuelled anger from local residents, frustrated by the actions of the out-of-state officers. Body camera footage showed that the group of police officers appeared to be very close to the armed man when they fired their weapons, raising questions about whether the use of deadly force could have been avoided.
Residents also questioned why Columbus officers were in their neighbourhood to begin with. The shooting took place on the 1400 block of W. Vliet Street, which is about 1.2 kilometres away from the Fiserv Forum, where the RNC is being held.
The Columbus Division of Police wrote in a statement that the “incident took place in the outer perimeter of the RNC, within the operational zone to which our officers were assigned.”
“They came into our community and shot down our family right here at a public park,” said Linda Sharpe, a cousin of the man who was killed. “What are you doing in our city, shooting people down?”
Linda Sharpe said her cousin lived in a tent encampment across the street from King Park, where the shooting occurred.
Residents said the encampment was a long-standing feature of the neighbourhood, which is home to several social service clinics and a shelter. Some said Milwaukee police officers are familiar with many of those living in the tents and might have been able to deescalate the situation.
David Porter, who said he knew Samuel Sharpe and is also homeless, was angry that officers from outside of Milwaukee were in his neighbourhood.
“If MPD would have been there, that man would still be alive right now,” Porter said, referring to Milwaukee police.
Milwaukee residents and activists quickly converged on the site of the shooting, many of them expressing outrage about the involvement of an outside police department in town because of the convention.
About 100 people held a vigil and peaceful march on Tuesday night, pausing for a moment of silence at the blood-stained spot where Sharpe was killed.
Norman, the Milwaukee police chief, defended the actions of the Columbus officers, stating that they only fired after the armed man ignored multiple police commands.
“This is a situation where somebody’s life was in immediate danger,” Norman said.
The investigation into the incident is “fluid and ongoing,” Milwaukee police say. The Greenfield Police Department is the lead law enforcement agency investigating the death and will be assisted by the Milwaukee Area Investigative Team.
The Columbus Division of Police, as well as the chief of staff for Milwaukee’s mayor and a spokesperson for the convention’s joint command centre, all said there was nothing to suggest the shooting was related to the convention itself.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, law enforcement officers may use deadly force only when necessary.
“(T)hat is, when the officer has a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to the officer or to another person.”
— with files from The Associated Press
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