Violence erupted in a predominantly black north Milwaukee neighborhood on Saturday night several hours after a police officer shot and killed a man who police said fled a traffic stop and was armed with a handgun. THERE ARE PHOTOS OF THIS YOUNG MAN online holding a gun that looks like a Tech or Mac.
Police revealed at a news conference Sunday afternoon that the man who was killed, Sylville Smith, and the officer who shot him were both black.
Tension between police and the black community has ratcheted up in recent years due to a series of racially tinged incidents. This is the second night of violence I hear. The city is said to have a history of police and black tensions. You can read that here.
However Sylville Smith has a lenghty criminal record and Wisconsin’s governor put the National Guard on standby against any further violence on the city’s mostly black north side.
Police chief Edward Flynn warned that the shooting was still under investigation and authorities were awaiting post-mortem examination results, but based on the silent video from the unidentified officer’s body camera, he “certainly appeared to be within lawful bounds”.
Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett said a still image pulled from the footage clearly showed the gun in 23-year-old Sylville Smith’s hand as he fled a traffic stop on Saturday.
“I want our community to know that,” Mr Barrett said, but he also called for understanding for Smith’s family.
“A young man lost his life yesterday afternoon. And no matter what the circumstances are, his family has to be hurting,” he said.
Mr Flynn would not identify the officer who shot Smith but said he was black. The police chief said he was not sure what prompted the stop but described Smith’s car as “behaving suspiciously”.
My beef with police is the same once again. THE OFFICER'S NAME IS NOT BEEN ANNOUNCED. We must all snitch. How much of a threat did he pose to the officer? Fleeing with a gun in hand could be dangerous and that is why the body cams need to be examined carefully. Most of Smith's criminal record were traffic related offenses AND THERE WAS NO FELONY COVICTION. Stay tuned for more as it comes in.
With files from the AP and Irish Times
