MILWAUKEE — Around 100 protesters marched along the security perimeter of the Republican National Convention Thursday to protest the death of Samuel Sharpe, Jr., who was shot and killed by police just two days earlier.
Sharpe, who was Black, was killed by five out-of-state police officers from Columbus, Ohio on Milwaukee’s north side within a mile of the RNC perimeter, though unrelated to the event.
Prior to the march, protesters gathered at Red Arrow Park, a few blocks east of the RNC security perimeter, to condemn the city’s decision to bring in roughly 4,000 out-of-state officers to assist with RNC security.
"The police, I guess they felt they were doing what they supposed to do, but it was just an overkill to shoot him like that," said Katrina Games, Sharpe's aunt. "They didn't even give him a chance to even follow the command. They just shot him."
Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman defended the out-of-state police presence at the RNC following the shooting at a press conference Tuesday.
"Someone's life was in danger," Norman said. "These officers who are not from this area took upon themselves to act to save someone's life."
Protesters also brought attention to the killing of D’Vontaye Mitchell, a Black man who died on June 30 after he was pinned down by private security guards employed by the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Milwaukee. The security guards involved have not been charged in his death yet despite a coroner ruling his death as a homicide.
"We’re gonna keep protesting and we’re gonna keep screaming to the mountaintops. We’re going to be my brother's voice to get his justice," said Nayisha Mitchell, D’Vontaye’s sister.
The march, organized by the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, started and ended at Red Arrow Park, the same park where approximately 700 to 800 protesters gathered to protest the RNC on Monday.
Police had lined the streets but protesters, who were peaceful, were able to successfully march from the park to the Hyatt Regency Hotel and back.
Anna Kleiber is the state news editor for The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as the arts editor. Anna has written in-depth on elections, legislative maps and campus news. She has interned with WisPolitics and Madison Magazine. Follow her on Twitter at @annakleiber03.
