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Families of men shot, killed by Officer Joseph Mensah file lawsuit against Wauwatosa PD

Posted at 1:57 PM, Oct 08, 2020
and last updated 2020-10-08 17:30:30-04

WAUWATOSA — The families of three men shot and killed by Officer Joseph Mensah have filed a lawsuit against the Wauwatosa Police Department over documents they say they are owed.

The families of Jay Anderson, Antonio Gonzalez, and Alvin Cole filed a lawsuit against the department on Thursday over documents they said they have requested from the department but have not received.

On Wednesday, the Milwaukee County District Attorney announced that there would be no charges against Mensah in the fatal shooting of Cole, 17. Cole was the third person Mensah fatally shot in the last five years.

officer-joseph-mensah
Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah

Attorney Kim Motley, who represents all the families, filed the lawsuit in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court. Motley told CNN that her office has filed open records requests for several items and have not received anything.

The requests included Mensah's complete personnel file, the department's use of force policies, and pertinent emails since June.

Motley says her office has also had to pay over $1,000 for some of the documents and have yet to receive anything.

TMJ4 News reached out to the Wauwatosa Police Department for comment.

"We are actively working to comply with the open records request. It was a voluminous request that spans decades. We have hired outside assistance to search through boxes for the requested paper files," said a department spokesperson.

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