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Mother, sisters of slain Black teen arrested at protest

The Milwaukee police officer who shot Alvin Cole was not charged in his death, leading to days of demonstrations in Wauwatosa.
 
Tracy Cole, mother of Alvin Cole, talks to the media outside the Milwaukee County courthouse Oct. 7 in Milwaukee. Eight months after the shooting death of 17-year-old Alvin Cole in February, the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office ruled Oct. 7 a Black police officer won't be charged because he had reasonable belief that deadly force was necessary.
Tracy Cole, mother of Alvin Cole, talks to the media outside the Milwaukee County courthouse Oct. 7 in Milwaukee. Eight months after the shooting death of 17-year-old Alvin Cole in February, the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office ruled Oct. 7 a Black police officer won't be charged because he had reasonable belief that deadly force was necessary. [ MIKE DE SISTI | AP ]
Published Oct. 9, 2020

MILWAUKEE — The mother and sisters of a Black teen who was killed by a suburban Milwaukee police officer were arrested by officers who were cracking down on protesters out after a curfew following a decision not to charge the officer.

Alvin Cole’s mother, Tracy Cole, and his sisters Taleavia and Tristiana Cole were arrested Oct. 8, their attorney Kimberley Motley said Oct. 9. They were arrested about 8:30 p.m. along with several others in a church parking lot in Wauwatosa, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Motley tweeted that Tracy Cole was arrested “for peacefully protesting” and “ended up in the hospital.” Motley said Tracy Cole, 48, was taken to Froedtert Hospital with an injury to her arm and forehead. Daughter Tristiana Cole was taken there as well.

Taleavia Cole, Alvin Cole's sister, speaks to the media outside the Milwaukee County courthouse on Oct. 7. Taleavia was arrested around 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 8, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Her sister, Tristiana, their mother, Tracy, and several others were arrested by officers who were cracking down on protesters out after curfew. [ MIKE DE SISTI | AP ]

Motley later tweeted that both were released from the hospital. Details on why Tristiana Cole was taken to the hospital weren’t immediately known. Wauwatosa police spokeswoman Abby Pavlik didn’t return messages the Associated Press left for her on Oct. 9. Police tweeted Oct. 8 that “several” people were arrested, and said one woman requested medical attention and was taken to a hospital.

Protesters have gathered in Wauwatosa for two straight nights to demonstrate against prosecutors' decision not to charge Officer Joseph Mensah in Alvin Cole’s death. Pressure mounted Oct. 9 on the city’s police commission to decide whether to discipline Mensah. An independent investigator has recommended he be fired.

The commission’s next scheduled meeting is Oct. 21, but Milwaukee County Supervisor Shawn Rolland, who represents parts of Wauwatosa, called for the panel to meet next week.

“Helicopters are circling above us, the National Guard is deployed on our streets, a curfew is preventing us from walking outside in our own yards, businesses are boarded up, there’s broken glass on our streets, families are marching and mourning the loss of their loved ones, police officers are at risk and none of us know what tomorrow will bring,” Rolland said in a statement. “If this commission can accelerate its deliberative work, our people, businesses and neighborhoods can begin to heal faster.”

The commission’s president, Dominic Leone, didn’t immediately respond to an email Oct. 9 seeking comment.

A Facebook Live stream that captured only audio of Tracy Cole was made by a third daughter. She could be heard screaming in pain as she was being arrested, saying police injured her arm, hit her in the head and used a stun gun on her.

Protesters march around a line of National Guardsmen protecting the Wauwatosa City Hall, late Oct. 7 in Wisconsin. Earlier, District Attorney John Chisolm refused to issue charges against Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah for the Feb. 2 fatal shooting of 17-year-old Alvin Cole at Mayfair Mall. [ RICK WOOD | AP ]

“I’m Mrs. Cole, Alvin’s mother,” Tracy Cole screamed repeatedly as officers pulled her out of her car.

“I can’t believe y’all did this to me. Y’all killed my son,” she yelled at the officers.

“I can’t breathe,” she said, multiple times. “I can’t breathe.”

Tracy Cole also said her head was bleeding and she believed her arm was broken. Cole could be heard telling someone that an officer had hit her in the head and pulled her hair.

“Well that’s too bad,” the person responded.

The city was under a 7 p.m. curfew during a second night of protests after Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm decided not to charge Mensah, who is also Black, with the shooting death of Cole, 17, in February outside Mayfair Mall.

According to investigators' reports, Cole had a gun and fired it. Chisholm said it appeared he shot himself in the arm. Officers said Cole refused commands to drop the weapon.

Motley has said she plans to file a federal lawsuit against Mensah.

Alvin Cole’s death was the third fatal shooting by Mensah in the last five years. Mensah shot and killed Antonio Gonzales in 2015 after police said Gonzales refused to drop a sword. A year later Mensah shot Jay Anderson Jr. in a car parked in a park after hours. Mensah said he saw a gun on the passenger seat and thought Anderson was reaching for it.

Mensah wasn’t charged in either shooting.

Officer Joseph Mensah shot and killed 17-year-old Alvin Cole, above, outside a mall in February after receiving a call of a man with a gun in the mall. In a report released Oct. 7, an independent investigator recommended officials in the Milwaukee suburb fire Mensah, who has shot and killed three people in the last five years. [ TALEAVIA COLE | AP ]

Cole’s death sparked protests all summer in Wauwatosa, a city of 48,000 just west of Milwaukee. The demonstrations played out against a backdrop of protests worldwide over the death in May of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee on his neck for nearly eight minutes. Floyd could be heard on cellphone video saying, “I can’t breathe,” which became a rallying cry for protesters.

The Wauwatosa Police and Fire Commission suspended Mensah in July and asked former U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic to determine whether Mensah should be disciplined. Biskupic recommended that the commission terminate Mensah, calling the risk of a fourth shooting too great. Biskupic also faulted Mensah for speaking publicly about the shooting.

Hours after Biskupic released his report, Chisholm announced he wouldn’t charge Mensah. The prosecutor said Mensah would be able to successfully argue he acted in self-defense.

Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber subsequently tweeted that his department “concurs” with the prosecutor’s decision but “hears the message” from the public. He said an internal review is ongoing and that Mensah remains suspended. The department has taken steps to improve policing, including more training, posting policies online and requiring body cameras by January, he said.

By GRETCHEN EHLKE and TODD RICHMOND