Milwaukee Common Council
Press Release

Joint letter to DA John Chisholm

Joint letter from members of the Common Council to District Attorney Chisholm

By - Oct 28th, 2016 05:05 pm

October 28, 2016

District Attorney John Chisholm
Safety Building, Room 405
821 W. State St.
Milwaukee, WI 53233

Dear District Attorney Chisholm:

We believe that, barring a compelling legal argument to the contrary, there is no valid reason why the Milwaukee Police Department’s video footage of the officer-involved shooting of Sylville Smith should be withheld from the public. Mr. Smith was killed during the incident by a Milwaukee police officer on August 13 near N. 44th and W. Auer., and the department’s video footage is a valuable public record that should be made available to the public and to media outlets.

Your office should make the MPD video footage of the incident public as soon as possible.

It is our firm belief that releasing the video footage as soon as possible will help strengthen public trust and provide a measure of transparency for citizens. We also hope the release of the footage can mark a starting point for greater healing in our city, and a path to justice for everyone involved in the case.

Sincerely,

Ald. Milele A. Coggs
President Ashanti Hamilton
Ald. Russell Stamper II
Ald. Chantia Lewis
Ald. Robert G. Donovan
Ald. Cavalier Johnson
Ald. Nik Kovac
Ald. Robert J. Bauman
Ald. José G. Pérez

Letter attached

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

Recent Press Releases by Milwaukee Common Council

Local 3rd Graders to Participate in December 12 Common Council Meeting

Youth were selected as winners of Alderperson for a Day Essay Contest

Statement on the Confirmation of Jezamil Arroyo-Vega as the Commissioner of Neighborhood Services

From members of the Milwaukee Common Council: Alderman José G. Pérez, Alderwoman JoCasta Zamarripa, Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic, Alderman Robert J. Bauman, Alderman Mark Borkowski, Alderman Lamont Westmoreland, Alderperson Jonathan Brostoff, Alderman Mark Chambers, Jr., Alderman Scott Spiker, Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs, Alderwoman Andrea M. Pratt, Alderman Michael J. Murphy, Alderman Russell W. Stamper, II, Alderwoman Larresa Taylor, and Alderman Khalif J. Rainey

Statement on verdict in Joel Acevedo homicide trial

Joint statement from Milwaukee Common Council Members: Alderman José G. Pérez, Alderman Jonathan Brostoff, Alderman Lamont Westmoreland, Alderman Khalif J. Rainey, Alderman Robert J. Bauman, Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic, Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs, Alderwoman JoCasta Zamarripa, Alderwoman Larresa Taylor, Alderman Mark Chambers, Jr., Alderman Mark A. Borkowski, Alderman Scott Spiker, and Alderman Russell W. Stamper, II

Leave a Reply

You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, starts at $9/month. Learn more.

Join now and cancel anytime.

If you are an existing member, sign-in to leave a comment.

Have questions? Need to report an error? Contact Us