Greenfield police launch investigation into fatal Milwaukee shooting involving Ohio police officers

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The Milwaukee Police Department announced Tuesday that the Greenfield Police Department will be the lead law enforcement agency in the investigation of a fatal shooting in Milwaukee on Tuesday involving five Columbus, Ohio, police officers.

On July 16 at approximately 1:10 p.m., thirteen uniformed officers from Ohio’s Columbus Division of Police, assigned to bicycle patrol, conferred with their superiors in their assigned zone, said Milwaukee Police Chief Elaine R. Bryant.

Columbus police met west of the corner of 14th and Vliet streets in the 1400 block of W. Vliet Street. During the meeting, officers observed a man carrying a knife in each hand engaged in an argument with another unarmed person, Bryant reported.

According to Bryant, the officers identified themselves as police officers and repeatedly ordered the man to drop the knife, according to recently released bodycam footage.

The man refused this request and attacked the other man with the knives, Bryant added.

“At this point, several officers fired their weapons and struck the suspect,” Bryant said.

The shooting occurred near King Park, just blocks from the convention center.

“My deepest sympathies go out to the families, the community and all those affected by the tragic events that unfolded outside of King Park today. The Milwaukee County Health and Human Services Department is working closely with this neighborhood and is already on the ground to provide assistance and counseling to those in need. But as we have seen in the past, the trauma and grief residents are currently experiencing will impact their daily lives long after today. We must continue to work to break the cycle of violence and create safer neighborhoods for every resident, family and child in Milwaukee. As the investigation continues, I demand full accountability and transparency, including more details about how this situation unfolded that resulted in deadly violence and loss of life,” Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said in a written statement.

The dead man is a 43-year-old Milwaukee man. No other injuries were reported, authorities said. Two knives were recovered at the scene, just blocks from the RNC, where a man was arrested for carrying an AK-47.

As previously reported, Columbus police, the Milwaukee mayor’s chief of staff, and a spokeswoman for the Congressional Joint Command said there was no evidence the shooting was related to Congress itself.

As previously reported, Columbus police sent a 13-member “Police Dialogue Team” to Milwaukee this week. The team was created a few years ago to approach protests differently. The goal is to allow people to exercise their right to demonstrate while avoiding the kind of violent conflicts with police that characterized the 2020 protests.

The Wisconsin Law Journal also previously reported that Milwaukee police had used federal channels to request assistance from police and law enforcement agencies across the country.