Judge dismisses cases brought against Wisconsin officer who killed three men over five years

Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah resigned under pressure in 2020 and joined the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – A federal judge has dismissed two of three claims against a former Wisconsin police officer who killed three people of color over a five-year period.

The families of Antonio Gonzales, Jay Anderson and Alvin Cole filed federal lawsuits in 2021 and 2022 against former Wauwatosa police officer Joseph Mensah and town’s police department, alleging Mensah used excessive force and the department promoted racism. In September 2022, the court cases were merged.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman in Milwaukee on Thursday dismissed the Gonzales and Anderson families’ claims, court records show. He allowed Cole’s case to proceed, setting oral arguments for next month.

The families’ attorney, Kimberly Motley, said last fall the Gonalzes family acknowledged they probably would not win the case. Still, he plans to ask Adelman to reconsider dismissing the Anderson family’s case.

Prosecutors say Mensah shot Gonzales, 29, in 2015 after Gonzales approached him with a sword and refused to drop it. He shot Anderson in 2016 after finding Anderson, 25, sleeping in a automobile at a park after hours. Mensah said he opened fire when Anderson reached for a gun within the passenger seat. And he shot and killed 17-year-old Cole during a chase outside a mall in 2020. Mensah said the teenager shot first.

Mensah is black. Anderson and Cole were black, and Gonzales identified as Native American.

Prosecutors decided to not charge Mensah in any of the incidents. Mensah resigned from his police position under pressure in 2020 and joined the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department.

Adelman said within the written order that Mensah twice warned Gonzales to drop his sword before opening fire.

As for Anderson, the judge said police automobile footage shows him reaching toward the passenger seat twice before Mensah fired the shot. Mensah radioed the dispatcher before the shooting to tell other officers that Anderson had a gun, and backup officers reported finding the gun within the seat, Adelman added.

Adelman confirmed claims by Anderson’s family that he was reaching for his mobile phone. But he said the phone was next to the gun and there was no way Mensah could have known whether Anderson was reaching for the gun or something else.

The judge said he didn’t need to handle the racism allegations since the excessive force claim had not been established.

Motley said she disagreed with the choice to dismiss Anderson’s case, saying the jury should resolve whether he tried to take the phone, the gun, or nothing in any respect. She said she plans to file a motion asking Adelman to reconsider his decision.

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