Joint letter to DA John Chisholm
Joint letter from members of the Common Council to District Attorney Chisholm
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. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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