Too soon? Officer Pablo Torres may yet face charges.
Kenosha, Wisconsin police officer Pablo Torres was involved in two shootings in only 10 days. One involved a mentally distressed veteran who was threatening suicide and one happened while Torres tried to arrest
a 26-year-old man wanted for parole violation:
Police say the Vietnam veteran had a knife in each hand and Torres shot the man when he made a threatening gesture. The man survived the shooting. His wife spoke off-camera after the incident — saying she told police her husband suffered from post-traumatic stress.
“I was screaming, ‘My husband is a veteran, don’t hurt my husband.’ They knew he had a mental problem; he was not out to hurt them, he was only out to hurt himself,” said the wife.
Torres went on leave while the state Department of Justice investigated the shooting. During that investigation, Torres returned to work ten days later. Then on March 14th, his first day back, Torres shot and killed Aaron Siler at the end of a high-speed chase. Police say Siler “brandished a weapon” prompting Torres to shoot.
Now, only weeks after the shooting of Aaron Siler, with an investigation into the shooting still underway, the Kenosha Police Association has erected a billboard thanking the community for its support, with a photo of none other than Officer Pablo Torres.
Friends and family of Siler are upset:
“I have to see this billboard every time I have to come into town with his smiling face on it,” Willie said.
Willie is a close friend of Aaron Siler’s mom.
“I felt like they were saying thank you for killing Aaron,” Willie said.
Willie says she had to call Siler’s mom to tell her about the billboard.
“She just starts sobbing. You know, why are they doing this to us?” Willie said.
Couldn't the Kenosha Police Association find a better way to thank the community for their support? As Kathy Willie points out, the Department of Justice investigation into the fatal shooting of Aaron Siler has not even been completed and charges may still be filed against him.
Officer Torres' record is a mixed bag of commendations and reprimands, including nine complaints of excessive force.
See Fox6Now.com's report on the billboard here.