Five Ohio police officers in Wisconsin for the Republican National Convention shot at a man who was in a knife fight near the convention, killing him, Milwaukee's police chief said Tuesday, July 17.
The man who members of the Columbus, Ohio, police department shot had a knife in each hand and refused police commands, Milwaukee Chief Jeffrey Norman said at a news conference. Two knives were recovered from the scene, the chief said, reported news agency PTI.
“Someone's life was in danger,” Norman said. “These officers, who were not from this area, took it upon themselves to act and save someone's life today.” Thousands of officers from multiple jurisdictions are in Milwaukee providing additional security for the convention that began Monday and concludes Thursday.
The shooting fuelled anger from residents who questioned why out-of-state officers were in their neighbourhood located about a mile from the convention site. The Columbus Police Department, as well as the chief of staff for Milwaukee's mayor and a spokesperson for the convention's joint command center, all said there was nothing to suggest the shooting was related to the convention itself.
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Milwaukee residents and activists quickly converged on the site of the shooting, many of them expressing outrage about the involvement of a police department in town because of the convention. Dozens of police officers stood behind police tape at the scene, declining to answer questions about what had happened.