Police cleared in Cinco de Mayo shootings, but an expert is concerned over excessive force

The two police officers who shot and injured two people in separate but near-simultaneous shootings during Cinco de Mayo celebrations in Milwaukee this year have been cleared of wrongdoing by the district attorney’s office. But one policing expert still considers one of the incidents to be an example of excessive force.

The shootings occurred at about 11 a.m. May 5 on the 1200 block of South Cesar Chavez Drive and the 1200 block of South 15th Place — about a block apart from each other — as holiday celebrations brought hundreds of people to the area and dozens of police officers working crowd control.

Bystander video of the events emerged on social media in the days following, with one amassing more than 100,000 views on Facebook. The officers were cleared of wrongdoing in August.

Here’s what the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office and Delores Jones-Brown, a criminal justice professor emerita at the City University of New York, had to say about each shooting:

South Cesar Chavez Drive shooting

This incident happened moments after the shooting on South 15th Place but was singled out by Jones-Brown as “far more problematic.”

After gunshots were heard from the South 15th Place incident, police observed members of the crowd moving quickly in response. An officer saw a male firing a gun into the air before running away.

The officer confronted the male — later identified as a 17-year-old — and ordered him to stop, and then fired more than 15 times, according to bodycam footage released by the Police Department. The officer’s shots continued after the teen fell to the ground and dropped the gun — a handgun with an extended magazine that was converted into a fully automatic firearm.

The teen was hit “numerous” times, according to Kent Lovern, the chief deputy district attorney for Milwaukee County.

In a letter to Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman, Lovern said the use of force was in response to the teen’s use of potentially deadly force near a large crowd of people, creating an immediate risk of harm. That justified the officer’s actions, Lovern wrote.

The teen has since been charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor. He has pleaded not guilty.

But Jones-Brown said she was “disturbed” by the number of shots fired by the officer.

Police said the teen continued to reach toward the dropped gun after he fell to the ground, but Jones-Brown pointed out that’s not clear from the bodycam footage police released in June.

“It’s an attempt to influence the individual’s interpretation of the footage. In this case, this narrative about he was reaching for the gun can’t be seen from the vantage point I saw in the video,” she said. “The one time I see his hand extended, that could just be someone writhing in pain from having been shot a number of times.”

Jones-Brown argued the volume of shots from the officer could create “a potential for harm equal to the person they are trying to apprehend” because the bullets could potentially ricochet with a crowd nearby.

She said prosecutors could have charged the officer with reckless endangerment, but acknowledged she was unsure how likely a conviction could be secured, depending on the jury pool.

The officer, who at the time was 40 years old with more than seven years of experience, has returned to full active duty, the Police Department said Monday.

An attorney for the teen declined comment.

South 15th Place shooting

The shooting that happened moments before the Chavez Drive incident didn't result in any charges against police and the civilian who was injured, nor did it raise major concerns for Jones-Brown.

According to police and bodycam footage, police heard several of gunshots in the area and ran down an alley toward a small parking area to investigate. There, officers encountered a man who was exiting a vehicle with a gun in hand and ran from police.

An officer who was 33 at the time, with more than seven years of experience, fired one shot at the suspect while his back appeared to be turned, hitting him in the flank. In another letter to Norman, Lovern said the officer fired the shot because the suspect was running toward another officer.

The officer’s actions were justified because the gunshots created risk to those around him, Lovern said. His decision to flee and not listen to the commands of police “only heightened the safety concerns.”

“The general notion is that, as long as a person is still in possession of the gun, they can turn at any time and fire at the officer, so I’m not surprised the DA didn’t take any action against the officers,” Jones-Brown said. “The fact the officer only fired one time is commendable.”

The officer has since returned to full active duty.

The suspect was later identified as a 22-year-old Greenfield man with a concealed carry permit who had been firing at another individual in self-defense before police arrived. Prosecutors declined to file charges against him for that reason, police said.

An attorney for the Greenfield man declined comment.

Contact Elliot Hughes at elliot.hughes@jrn.com or 414-704-8958. Follow him on Twitter @elliothughes12.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Police cleared in Cinco de Mayo shootings; expert still raises concern