Police Killing In Milwaukee Reinforces Concerns Of Safety And Disinvestment In Black Communities
Mourners gather at King Park for a candlelight vigil near where a man family and friends have identified as Samuel Sharpe was shot and killed by police about one mile from Fiserv Forum where the Republican National Convention (RNC) is being held, on July 16, 2024. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. | Source: Jim Vondruska / Getty
Even before the Republican National Convention (RNC) began, Milwaukee residents sounded the alarm about concerns for community safety and the possibility of over-policing. Sadly, some of those concerns came to bear after several out-of-town police officers killed a local man this week.
The increase in policing and a heightened chance of violent encounters with police has been a major concern for many. A collective of Black and Southeast Asian social justice organizations released a statement in response to Samuel Sharpe’s killing calling the increased police presence “an imposition made without our consent.”
“We knew that bringing the RNC, without community input, would heighten the risks and make our city less safe,” read the statement. “Elected officials chose policing over the well-being of our community, placing Black and Brown residents directly in harm’s way.”
However, the expanded police presence has been part of the concern local organizers and residents raised long before the RNC began.
Maya Neal, executive director of the Wisconsin Civic Power Table, spoke with NewsOne about community safety concerns and the increased reliance on policing in an interview ahead of the RNC.
“When you see large events like this, you see an increase in police presence,” she said. “A lot of, the quality of life policing, which is like harassing homeless people, harassing sex workers…setting up imaginary borders, those kinds of things. And that often has a very negative impact on people of color and poor folks.”
A community member speaks to police at the intersection of 13th and Vliet, just outside of the security perimeter for the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 16, 2024, near where one person died after a police-involved shooting. | Source: Anadolu / Getty
Despite the city’s large Black population, Neal said Black people were disproportionately impacted by over-policing and the criminal legal system as well as housing issues and other economic struggles. Reporting by Wisconsin Watch in late 2023 highlighted disparities such as driving age Black Milwaukee residents were eight times more likely to experience stop and frisk and 4.5 times more likely to be stopped while driving than their white counterparts.
According to news reports, five officers from Columbus, Ohio, killed Sharpe about a mile from the RNC’s security perimeter. The officers were reportedly in their assigned area and took it upon themselves to intervene in an alleged altercation in a nearby community unrelated to the RNC.
During a press conference, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said he was saddened by the events and extended thoughts to Sharpe’s family and the officers involved. Despite expressing faith in a full in thorough investigation, his subsequent remarks seemed to absolve the officers.
#NEW: Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson on the deadly police shooting near Fiserv Forum: “I was saddened by the death yesterday afternoon… no one absolutely no one wanted this outcome and I anticipate a full as well as thorough investigation” @WISN12News pic.twitter.com/f6YX2csr2y
— Gerron Jordan (@GerronJordan) July 17, 2024
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley released a statement calling for “full accountability and transparency” in the subsequent investigation.
— Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley (@DavidCrowleyWI) July 17, 2024
Mixed feelings on RNC’s economic benefit to Milwaukee
Milwaukee residents have expressed mixed feelings about the RNC and alleged economic return. A very vocal community contingent challenged the economic prosperity augment focusing concerns on public safety and the potential impact of over-policing on Black and other impacted communities in the city. Markasa Tucker-Harris, executive director of the African American Roundtable, wrote a July 11 op-ed questioning whether the RNC would be good for Black residents. Tucker-Harris called out the RNC’s longstanding platform and agenda, which she said sought to disempower, silence, and harm Black people. She pointed out that the investment the city made in hosting political nomination conventions could be put back into the local community instead.
Both Johnson and Crowley have touted the potential economic benefits of the RNC in Milwaukee.
“This is not just about the RNC,” Johnson told NewsOne. “I see the convention as a means to an end and that we will be able to bring in other large-scale events with a city that has been elevated on the national and the global stage.”
He noted the impact of the RNC on Cleveland and the opportunity to have Milwaukee be viewed as a destination for other big events and visitors. During the pre-convention interview with NewsOne, Johnson also addressed the attacks by Republicans including the former president on the city. He emphasized the city’s rich diversity and culture.
“Everyone who comes here and has the opportunity to experience the city firsthand falls in love with the city,” the mayor said. “Roughly 1 in 10 people who live in the state of Wisconsin, live right here, right in the city limits of Milwaukee. So if you’re looking for diversity, in your experience, Milwaukee is the place to go.”
Family, friends and activists attend a vigil for Samuel Sharpe Jr. who was shot and killed by five Ohio police officers who were in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention (RNC) on July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. | Source: Spencer Platt / Getty
Building power as a pathway to improving community outcomes
The sense of community and resilience is also a bright spot for Neal. She describes her organization as a connector providing data tools, support, and other resources to a broad network of 501(c)(3) organizations around the state.
“What’s most important about our work is that we are kind of a network connection between all of these groups that allows us to work in coalition,” she said. “When we are working in solidarity with each other, we’re gonna achieve a lot more than if we’re working in silos.”
Reflecting on the RNC and the choice for voters this year, Neal said that despite the polls and feelings about the election everyone has a choice before them. She said that people always have a choice when it comes to their communities and organizing. For Neal, the choice is easy, choose community always.
“With all this work that I do around democracy—all the organizing I do professionally and personally— it’s always about building power,” she said. “My advice to people would just be to, stand in your own power and remember the responsibility that you have to do what you can with what you have.”
Neal recommends people ground themselves in a commitment to building power and self-determination for themselves and their communities.
“I choose to vote for who I think is going to give me the best context to organize in,” she said. “I also choose every single day to organize. I choose to do this job that I do that I believe is making the world better. I choose to find ways to educate or to give back to my community.”
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