Fatal Police Shooting In Milwaukee Sparks Riots Overnight
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has activated the state's National Guard to help police in Milwaukee "upon request" in the wake of riots touched off by the fatal police shooting of a man who who allegedly was carrying a handgun as he fled a traffic stop.
Fueled by outrage over the fatal police shooting of a 23-year-old man on the city's predominantly black north side, protesters took to the streets of Milwaukee overnight, clashing with officers, looting stores, and setting several fires.
The violence continued into the early morning hours of Sunday before order was restored. Officials estimated crowds between 200 and 800 strong flooded the city's Sherman Park neighborhood, a largely African-American community charred with years-long resentment.
Sunday morning, Walker praised Milwaukee residents who helped clean up the Sherman Park neighborhood after the riots, and called for "continued peace and prayer. Walker said he decided to activate the National Guard after receiving a request from Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke and consulting with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett Adjutant General Donald Dunbar.
The riots started after a man who fled from a traffic stop was shot and killed by police around 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Barrett said the man was stopped for "suspicious activity," and police said the man was carrying a stolen gun. The mayor said officers ordered the man to drop the gun, and when he didn't, an officer shot him twice.
"The gun was a stolen gun. The officer didn't know this at the time, but there were 23 rounds in that gun," Barrett said. "I want to make sure that we don't lose any police officers in this community either."
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Milwaukee police said both the officer and the man who was shot are black. Police Chief Edward Flynn identified the man who was killed as 23-year-old Sylville K. Smith, and he said Smith had a "lengthy arrest record."
The officer is a 6-year veteran of the department, and was wearing a body camera. Barrett said a still image pulled from the officer's body camera shows "without question" that Smith was holding a gun when he was shot.
The officer has been placed on administrative duty.
Police said 17 people were arrested overnight. Four officers were injured in the clashes with protesters. A 16-year-old girl also was wounded by a stray bullet. Police said officers did not fire a single shot during the riots.
A former WBBM Newsradio anchor and reporter witnessed the riots firsthand overnight.
"The violence that ensued in the hours following that are like something I've never covered in my career before," said Michele Fiore, now a reporter with WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee.
Fiore said the unrest began on that city's north side, not long after the shooting. Demonstrators set a police cruiser on fire, smashed the windows of another squad car, and destroyed other vehicles.
"We have seen looting of stores, we have seen fires being set – one at a gas station, one at an O'Reilly's Auto Parts store. We saw, witnessed shots being fired; just random shots being fired into the crowd. It's been an intimidating night as a person in the media," she said.
A bank and a beauty supply store also were set on fire. Authorities said firefighers didn't move in on a gas station fire right away because of gunfire at the scene.
Fiore said as a police car was being set on fire, a community activist told her and her photographer to leave the scene, and they did after two men confronted them and began shouting expletives.
A Milwaukee journal Sentinel reporter also was shoved to the ground and punched.
Barrett has said social media is partly to blame for the violence.
"We know that there were individuals using Facebook and other social media devices, or whatever you want to call them, that let individuals know that they should congregate in this area," he said.
People in the community said tensions have been rising since 2014, when police shot and killed Dontre Hamilton, a mentally ill man who allegedly got hold of an officer's baton and hit him with it during a confrontation in a park.
The officer who killed Hamilton was fired for instigating the fight with an inappropriate pat-down, but wasn't charged with a crime, because prosecutors determined he shot Hamilton in self-defense.
The vast majority of people taking part in Saturday night's protests were black, and Milwaukee Alderman Khalif Rainey – who represents the district where the riots took place – said the city's African-American population is "tired of living under this oppression."
"This entire community has sat back and witnessed how Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has become the worst place to live for African Americans in the entire country," he said.
Police were not able to contain the violence until the early morning hours on Sunday, after Barrett made an impassioned plea for calm after midnight.
"If you love your son, if you love your daughter, text them, call them, pull them by the ears, and get them home. Get them home right now before more damage is done, because we do not want to see anymore loss of life. We don't want to see any more injuries," he said.
Barrett was expected to meet with police and others on Sunday to discuss whether a citywide curfew should be imposed to try to prevent further violence. The mayor has said police presence will be strong in the Sherman Park neighborhood on Sunday, after the riots there.
The state is investigating the police shooting that sparked the unrest in Milwaukee.
