'Somebody’s Life Was in Immediate Danger...

A man wielding knives was shot and killed by Ohio police officers who were in Milwaukee, Wis

Published Time: 17.07.2024 - 16:31:18 Modified Time: 17.07.2024 - 16:31:18

A man wielding knives was shot and killed by Ohio police officers who were in Milwaukee, Wis., on duty for the Republican National Convention, according to officials.

Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman said in a press conference, shared by ABC affiliate WISN 12 News, that on Tuesday, July 16, at approximately 1:10 p.m. local time,over a dozen officers from the Columbus, Ohio police department were in a briefing in “their assigned zone” a couple of blocks away from where the RNC was taking place when they saw a 43-year-old man “engage in an altercation with another unarmed individual.”

Norman said the 43-year-old man, who held a knife in each hand, “refused” to listen to the officer’s “commands” to drop the weapons. Police say the man then “charged at the other individual with the knives,” which led five officers to shoot him, according to Norman.

Body camera footage released by the police and obtained by the Associated Press reportedly showed officers chatting on bikes before one officer spotted the man with the knives and said, “He’s got a knife.”

Several officers can then be heard yelling at the man to “Drop the knife!” as they ran toward him before firing their weapons as the man with knives made a move toward the other individual.

“This was a situation in which somebody’s life was in immediate danger,” Norman said at the press conference. “These officers, who are not from this area, took it upon themselves to act to save someone's life today.”

The man “sustained fatal injuries” from the shooting and there were “no other reported injuries," police said. The man’s knives were “recovered at the scene.”

According to the AP, the man who was killed in the incident was identified as Samuel Sharpe. Mourners gathered near the scene to hold a vigil and march hours after the shooting occurred. Some members of the community have expressed outrage at the increased police pres -

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ence due to the RNC.

"They came into our community and shot down our family right here at a public park,” said Linda Sharpe, a cousin of the man who was killed, per the AP. “What are you doing in our city, shooting people down?"

Norman said the incident is under investigation by the Milwaukee police department’s investigative team. Several police from multiple state jurisdictions are helping the Milwaukee Police Department provide security for the area around the RNC convention.

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The U.S. Secret Service also shared in a statement to Fox 6 News that the shooting “did not occur within the security perimeters” of the convention and was “unrelated” to the convention.

The Secret Service further said that it “remains confident” in the “national security plan for the Republican National Convention” and “has not identified any issues at this point that would warrant changes to the security measures currently in place."

“As the convention progresses, the U.S. Secret Service will continuously adapt as needed in order to ensure the highest level of safety and security for convention attendees, volunteers and the City of Milwaukee,” the Secret Service said in its statement.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley shared in a statement on X (formerly known as Twitter) that his “heart goes out to the families, the community and all those affected by the tragic events that occurred” during the incident. He further called for “full accountability and transparency” along with “more details about how this situation unfolded that resulted in deadly force and loss of life.”