Prosecutors Won’t Charge Ex-Wisconsin Officer Who Fatally Shot Black Man Sitting In Parked Car

Milwaukee, Wisconsin — A previous Wisconsin officer who fatally shot a Black man sitting down within a parked automobile in 2016 will not encounter expenses, specific prosecutors reported.

The previous Wauwatosa police officer, Joseph Mensah, was accused of killing Jay Anderson Jr., who was originally identified sleeping inside his motor vehicle in the Milwaukee suburb in June 2016. Mensah claimed that Anderson was achieving for a gun right before he shot and killed him in self-defence.

Whilst a Milwaukee County Circuit Court docket choose ruled in July 2021 that probable cause existed to demand Mensah with homicide by negligent dealing with of a hazardous weapon, prosecutors observed that they did not have ample proof to charge Mensah with a crime, NBC News documented.

In accordance to the exclusive prosecutors, the selection not to file rates was centered on a squad video clip that showed the closing 18 seconds in advance of Mensah fired his weapon. 

The footage, which had no audio, reportedly showed Anderson trying to keep his fingers lifted. He later achieved down in the way of a gun prior to placing his palms back up again, prosecutors claimed.

The prosecutors observed that these actions by Anderson had been enough for Mensah to fear for his lifestyle and shoot him in self-protection. They additional that the footage was also reviewed by a mock jury with authorized professionals, such as lawyers and judges.

“The too much to handle result of all of that is that persons considered that the motion that Mr. Anderson produced seconds before he was shot was ample to trigger a person in Mensah’s place to dread that if he failed to shoot first, he was going to be shot himself,” special prosecutor Scott Hansen mentioned, as for every WPR.

Nonetheless, Anderson’s family mentioned the video need to not have been the primary resource of proof in the circumstance. They believe that Anderson could just have been achieving for his cell phone or identification when he set his hand down.

Anderson was among the 3 men and women Mensah fatally shot during his 5-year tenure with the Wauwatosa Police Department. He was cleared in the two other scenarios, in accordance to ABC Information. After resigning from the section in November 2020, Mensah was hired as a deputy in Waukesha County.

Illustration. Police lights. Image: tevenet/Pixabay