Community advocates say the city should be held accountable in the fatal shooting of a
man who had been living in a tent less than a mile from the security perimeter during the RNC.
The Columbus, Ohio Police Department released body cam footage of its officers shooting and
killing Samuel Sharp as he wielded a knife in an apparent street fight.
But why were out-of-state police patrolling city neighborhoods beyond the security zone?
Angela Lang from Black Leaders Organizing for Communities calls Sharp's death devastating.
Angela, thanks very much for being here.
Thanks for having me.
So you blame the RNC for the death of Samuel Sharp. Why?
I do. I fully believe that had the RNC not been hosted in Milwaukee,
we wouldn't have even had those out-of-state police even over there.
And I think there is calls and questions of why they were over there in the first place.
And I've seen accounts from friends and family members that all have said
that if this was a local police officer, it probably would not have resulted in his death
because they knew him and they would be more trained in de-escalation.
Have you gotten any answers as to the question as to why those officers were there?
I have not. I did see some commentary from law enforcement trying to explain
why they were out there. And I know that there was a response
that on the last day of the RNC, if there were out-of-state cops patrolling some of those areas,
they would be accompanied with a Milwaukee police department officer, which doesn't quite
answer the question. And I don't think actually really solved or got to the heart of the issues.
Just ahead of the convention, there were sweeps downtown of unsheltered people.
How did that play into this?
Yeah. I mean, I think with any convention, and we had similar concerns
if we were to host the DNC about unhoused folks and the additional security.
And when you have a large convention or a large event like this, a lot of folks,
they want to beautify their city and make it look as attractive as possible.
And so a lot of folks were told, I believe, by last week's Saturday that they had to find
a different place to go. Folks have said that law enforcement did provide resources,
but there's only so many shelters and so many beds that I can imagine it pushed folks to go to
other areas away from maybe where they typically were.
Before the convention, you said that you felt betrayed by the mayor for,
quote, rolling out the red carpet for people who hate us. How about now after the convention?
I'm even more betrayed and saddened that this is actually what happened in our city,
and there had been years of warnings from community members and residents that said we
did not want this hateful language and this hateful party, but have also been saying about
the increase in law enforcement would have been a concern. And it goes to show what happens when
you don't actually listen to community members and actually listen to our concerns, because,
unfortunately, now we're having to deal with this tragedy and losing a Milwaukee community member.
In a city that Donald Trump called horrible, do you feel like so many eyes on Milwaukee helped
show it in a different light? You know, I'm not sure. You know, we've seen reports and commentary
that some of the folks weren't, you know, necessarily seeing some of the great amazing places of Milwaukee,
there are restaurants, beloved restaurants and attractions that were closed and didn't have as
many reservations. So I'm curious of how much the participants actually saw of Milwaukee. I hope
that they left with a different perspective, but I will say that even tweeting about the shooting
that happened and seeing some of the comments in my mentions, I'm not sure if people have any
sympathy for Milwaukee. And I think some folks still consider it a place of murder and crime
in these terrible stereotypes and statistics. You spoke to this a little bit, but what do you
make of reporting that the economic impact was spotty? It goes to show that there was no dollar
amount worth it worth hosting this. I think the big, I think, pushback on anybody that challenge
having the RNC here was that it would be worth it in the long run for an economic impact.
For some of us, we didn't have a dollar amount. There was no dollar that would make it worth it.
And then to know that communities just up the street, Black owned businesses in the Brownsville
neighborhood continue to struggle. There are restaurants that potentially lost a busy week
in the middle of summer, and that could be devastating for them. And so I'll be very curious to see
what the economic analysis is after this. Indeed. Angela Lang, thanks very much for joining us.
Thanks for having me.
Oh, Marissa would like me to ask you what you would like people to know about Milwaukee.
Oh, I want people to know that Milwaukee is an incredibly beautiful and special place. And I say
this as a lifelong resident by choice. I chose to live here and to work here. One of my favorite
things is the summer, but also the people and the resilience and that in the face of tragedy,
we always find a way to center joy and come together and find a way to make things work even under
really tremendous circumstances. Nice. Thank you. Thanks very much. I don't know if Marissa is
going to insert that or what she's going to do, but with your permission. Okay. Great. I love that
question. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Thank y'all the weekend. Okay. Bye. You too.