Rep. Bowen Statement on Weekend Incident in Wauwatosa

In reaction to the incident at Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah’s home over the weekend, State Rep David Bowen released the following statement:

“During this important era of activism, I make it my duty to go out everyday with protestors to make sure that the citizens fighting for change in this critical moment aren’t taken advantage of or repressed by authorities. My presence as an elected official speaks volumes to people we come in contact with. What I observed on Saturday outside Officer Mensah’s home was an out-of-control, yelling & aggressive man that came out of his house with the goal to provoke peaceful protestors and incite violence.

In the streets every single day are brave Wisconsinites who have protested peacefully for over 70 days, singing and chanting in the streets for change. All of them agree on one important issue: justice has not been served for victims and their families. Joseph Mensah choosing to come out of his house aggressively to provoke these passionate people, many of whom have lost someone they loved, who want to change this broken system is disturbing. None of them displayed any behavior to welcome the provoking threats of violence by Joseph Mensah.

The victim narrative put forth by Mensah and now the Wauwatosa Police Department is totally inaccurate, irresponsible and false. In my time at the protest in front of Mensah’s home, I personally felt threatened by his actions: spraying pepper spray into the crowd, yelling & inviting protestors to fight him, taking his big dog out to potentially attack people. What ‘responsible’ person, supposedly looking for a peaceful conversation, would do those things?

This was not the first protest outside of an individual’s home; there have been protests and gospel concerts held in front of many influential leader’s homes. Chief Weber, Chief Morales, DA Chisholm & Mayor Barrett. All of those times were peaceful and occurred without incident. This time would’ve been no different had Officer Mensah not decided to confront the crowd.

No one tried to kill him or his girlfriend. That’s a lie. No one tried to enter his home. That’s a lie. There weren’t several shots fired. Another lie. No protestor shot at the back door. That’s the biggest lie. Joseph Mensah chose to engage with a protestor, and pulled the trigger on that individual’s firearm. From my own experiences Saturday night and the statements made in the time since, I have concluded that Joseph Mensah’s credibility must be questioned. I personally believe that he can not be trusted to tell the truth.

In sum, Officer Mensah’s actions on Saturday night as well as the elaborate story he’s chosen to concoct in the wake of those events highlight one important truth: Joseph Mensah is not fit to represent any community as an officer of the law, and he needs to be removed from that position immediately.”

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.